whereas the continuance of that coldness which has been between you will produce the contrary Effects LETTER LXXXIII To the Duke of Bouillon I Make no question but that in the Places where you are you contribute toward the King's Service whatever His Majesty can expect from your Zeal and Affection for his Affairs M. de Noyers will give you such a particular accompt of what M. de Thou remonstrated to him on your behalf that having nothing farther to add I shall say no more then only this that His Majesty's desire to see the Count in that Condition that becomes him near his Person has enclin'd him to send M. de Bautru to him in order to give him all the satisfaction he can desire I promise my self that this News will please you so much the more because I am confidently assur'd that there is nothing that lies in your power which you would not contribute toward so good an End For my own part such is the esteem I have for yee that it will be no small Satisfaction to me to have an Opportunity to let you see by real Effects that no body has more Sincerity then my self c. LETTER LXXXIV To M. de Bethune during the Siege of Pignerol by Father Joseph I Have delay'd to let you hear from us as being desirous to give you certain Information of what Resolutions are to be taken upon the Uncertainties wherewith the Duke of Savoy still amnses us For though his Carriage in these present Affairs gave us Cause enough to believe what now we see I thought it convenient however that we should shut our Eyes and practise Patience in several things that we might not omit any Means to close with the King 's just Intentions for the Defence of the Duke of Mantua's Territories as he is oblig'd by the Treaty of Suza wherein every body knows that His Majesty had no other Aim than the Repose of Italy and the Preservation of the publick Liberty But at last the said Duke made it so manifestly appear that there was no Reason to relie upon what might be reasonably expected from him that all those Persons who together with my self were intrusted with the Conduct of that Army were of Opinion that the King's Service the Reputation of his Arms and the Welfare of his Confederates requir'd that we should seek for more certain Assurances then Words from the said Duke Instead of furnishing us with Provisions as he had solemnly promis'd the King and causing Twenty Thousand Sacks of Corn to be deliver'd on this side for the like Quantity which the King had put into Nice after he had deliver'd us a small Quantity and reduc'd us to Necessity he by a general Prohibition forbade all his Subjects to assist us any manner of way shew'd all the Marks of Jealousie and exercis'd all the Acts of Hostility that a declar'd Enemy could have done For when we came to Veillana though there were a River between him and us he put all his Men into that place and caus'd 'em to advance as we march'd He seiz'd upon all the Passes through which Provisions could come to us and at length declar'd that he would not stand to what he had promis'd by the Treaty of Suza which was to join with France to procure the Duke of Mantua the peaceable Enjoyment of his Territories and pacifie the Troubles of Italy if the King would not assure him to lay down Arms till after the Conquest of Milanois and Genoua By this 't is easie to judge whether the said Duke's Designs could be conformable to His Majesty's who had not been persuaded to this War but only to succour his Confederates and settle the Repose of Christendom These new Propositions of the Duke of Savoy and the Extremities which the King's Army suffer'd in Cazeletta where he seem'd to have lodg'd us on purpose caus'd us to quit that place and march to Rivola where we arriv'd the 18th of this Month. But before we set forward I sent a Gentleman to the Duke who was then at Rivola to desire him that we might have a little more Room for the Convenience of the Army which could not pass forward without being more certain of his Intentions But the Duke being gone before Day he could not meet with him The next Day I sent to him the Sieur Servien to let him understand the same Reasons and to give the Nuncio Pancirollo an Account of 'em But the Duke would neither see the said Sieur Servien nor permit him to speak with the Nuncio nor with Signior Sorenze the Venetian Ambassador who were both at that time in Turin The same day I dispatch'd away the Sieur de L'Isles that at least he might pay his Respect to Monsieur and Madam the Princess of Piemont and declare to them how great a Grief it would be to me that the Duke of Savoy should give the King any Cause by his ill Conduct to complain of him and to seek Assurances otherwhere then in his Promises Put the Gates of Turin being shut against that Gentleman he return'd without being able to deliver his Message Upon which the Mareschals of France and other Principal Officers of the Army prudently judg'd that he was resolv'd no longer to hearken to any thing on the King's Behalf that he was extreamly averse from the King's Intentions and that he rather chose to have a War in his own Country then to quit his Design of engaging the King in a continual War against the King of Spain and the Genoneses and caus'd em together with my self to conclude upon this Extremity That we were to make use of that Force which His Majesty had put into our Hands to do what was most advantageous for the Good of his Service We all agreed to march to Pignerol because it afforded us a more easie Passage of Provisions from France which the Duke of Savoy deny'd us We arriv'd there the 21th of this Month and this Day the Town surrender'd with great probability that the Cittadel will do the like in few Days Perousa and the Fort adjoining to it which His Highness built about a Year ago to give a Jealousie to the Inhabitants of Pragelas who adhere to the King made no Resistance against our Men So that from this place where we now are there is a free Passage into France I cannot express the People's Joy in the midst of the Calamities of the War to find that the King is now their Sovereign such is their Veneration for his Justice and Clemency You may be pleas'd to acquaint His Holiness of this Success and to let him know the Reasons of our Proceedings which I make no question but he will approve and judge 'em to be of great Importance and Benefit to put a stop in some measure to the Oppressions and Violences that afflict or threaten to afflict all Italy to which all the Remedies apply'd by the Care and Admonitions of His Holiness have been hitherto fruitless If he will
never unprovided of such things which are of necessary use to ' em I desire you to take care to see all this perform'd and be assur'd that I am and ever will be SIR Your most Affectionate Servant RICHELIEU Peronne May 6 1636. LETTER XX. To the Cardinal de la Valette My Lord THE Sieur Ferrier being gone to visit the Mareschal de la Force from the King about an Affair which he will communicate to you I thought my self oblig'd to inform you by him what his Majesty's Thoughts are in relation to your self I mean about the commanding of his Troops which he order'd to meet about Langres You must know then he 's so perfectly satisfy'd not only with your Affection to the Prosperity of his Affairs but with your Merit and Experience that of his own proper Motion he form'd this Resolution not judging it fit that a Person of your Condition shou'd remain in his Army without Authority I am so much the more pleas'd at the choice he has made of your self upon this Occasion because it will give you an Opportunity to discover your Worth to the World every Day more and more and I am assured you will fully answer the Opinion and Confidence that has been always repos'd in you In the mean time I desire you to depend upon my Affection as fixt and immoveable to you No Man living more esteems you or wishes your Happiness with greater Zeal than my self who am My Lord Your c RICHELIEU Neufchastel May 15 1635. P. S. You will do well to consider deliberately what to enterprize with the Army that you are to command The Sieur Ferrier will tell you how many different Thoughts we have had of that Matter here If we cou'd but beat Monsieur de Lorrain with the Troops that the Mareschal de la Force commands in those Parts then we ought to employ the above-mention'd Army in the Affair that Colonel Hebron and I talked about at Compeigne We expect the return of the aforesaid Ferrier to know whether we must reinforce Monsieur de la Force only with Horse or Horse and Foot together LETTER XXI To the same My Lord THE Bearer hereof will acquaint you with more than I thought convenient to commit to Writing the Ways being neither free nor safe Only this I will assure you that in whatsoever Place or whatsoever Condition I happen to be I am and ever shall be as much as you can desire me My Lord Your most Affectionate c. RICHELIEU Château-Thierry May 20 1635. LETTER XXII To the Mareschals de Châtillon and de Brezé Gentlemen AS I cannot sufficiently express to you how much the King is satisfy'd with the Service you have lately done him in the management of his Army and in the Battle you have fought with the Enemy so 't is as impossible for me to describe to you my own Joy in particular at the great Advantage we have gain'd and the Glory you have acquir'd by so gallant an Action I can assure you that this happy Success has but answered his Expectation who always promis'd himself a Victory equal to what you have gain'd from the Goodness of God the Justice of his Cause and from your Courage and Prudence He has commanded a publick Thanksgiving to God to whom we must attribute so great and so considerable a Victory The King does not question but that you 'll continue to act for his Service upon all Occasions that shall present themselves for the future as well as you have hitherto done which has given him all the Satisfaction imaginable as you 'll find more particularly by his Dispatches to which referring my self I shall conclude this with assuring you of the Continuance of my Affection and that I am Your c. RICHELIEU Condé May 30 1635. P. S. Since this Dispatch was shut up we have receiv'd Advice that the Mareschal de la Force after he had encamped four Days within Cannon-shot of Duke Charles's Army during which they had perpetual Skirmishes on both sides has at last oblig'd the aforesaid Army to retire with the loss of nine hundred Men upon the Spot four hundred Prisoners and a great deal of Baggage without the loss on our part of above twenty comprehending the slain as well as wounded in the Number LETTER XXIII To the Cardinal de la Valette My Lord I Cannot sufficiently either praise or blame you for your manner of managing your self where now you are and exposing your Person to all Hazards as we hear you do The Abbot of Coursan who will part from hence within a Day or two has a great deal more to tell you from me In the Interim rest assured that no Man living is more sincerely than I am My Lord Your most Humble c. RICHELIEU Condé June 1 1635. P. S. I conjure you to have a care of your self and engage Monsieur de la Force as much as you can to make the best Advantage of the Victory which God has given to his Majesty's Arms by driving if possible Duke Charles on t'other side the Rhine now Feuquieres and Bellefonds have joyned him Commissary Rose is gone to conferr with Monsieur de la Force LETTER XXIV To the same My Lord I Have order'd the Abbot of Coursan whom the King has sent to the place where now you are to communicate his Instructions intirely to you Continue I beseech you to manage Affairs so as may be most advantageous to his Majesty's Service If we cou'd beat Duke Charles beyond the Rhine or lock him up in some commodious Place so that he cou'd not come back to the Franche-Comté we might soon expect to see the happy effects of it nor shou'd you be without a considerable share in them Let me prevail with you to continue in the Army where you are till such time as you see what can be done against the aforesaid Duke with the Re-inforcement of the Sieur de Feuquieres and that of Bellefonds 'T is of no small importance to beat the Iron while 't is hot upon this Occasion not only for the great Consternation the Enemy is in but because 't is to be feared that Duke Bernard wont let you have the Germans long but will call them home If once Duke Charles were beaten or retir'd beyond the Rhine I wou'd desire you to come hither with all speed that you might receive a more honourable Post in the Army whither I find your Inclination carries you While you tarry where you are I conjure you not to expose your Person as you have too often done Excuse me if I tell you your Honour does not require and the King's Service cannot suffer it Besides these Considerations the Passion I have for you as well as my own Interest constrains me to tell you that you cannot more sensibly oblige me than by altering this Method Tho' the Victory which it pleased God to give the King in Flanders may possibly have arriv'd to you already by common Report
need of them if the Interests of the Church and all Christendom which the King prefers before his own did not concur with yours The Ambition of the Spaniards is too well known to the whole World not to discern that they have no other Design than not only to make Popes which may be favourable to them but who may so absolutely depend on them as to consider the Desires of Spain as the Rule of the Actions of the Holy Chair and you are too quick-sighted as not to see that if you do not fill those many Vacancies in the Consistory you will not be strong enough to hinder them from obtaining their Ends by consequence of which the Church will be involved in a Servitude both shameful and intolerable if the Contempt that you have of yourself hinders you from a due Consideration of an Affair of so great Moment to your Family The Publick Interests do not suffer you to do so the Peace of Christendom the Glory of God and the Liberty of his Church oblige you upon pain of answering before the Tribunal of Heaven to contribute your utmost to their Advantage seeing there are no Reasons able to counterpoise those powerful Considerations I cannot imagine that you surmize that the Subjects nominated by the Crowns are not agreeable both because I know and dare answer that those who apply themselves to France will passionately embrace the Interests of your Family and that though they should not do it this Consideration is too weak to divert them from so important a matter In a word my Lord the matter in dispute is so to secure the Establishment of your House that it may not be shaken or fall into Contempt or Ruiune The matter in dispute is Either to leave Christendom in Confusion or to put yourself in a Capacity effectually to promote its Peace instead of being contented with insignificant Wishes for so good Ends The matter in dispute is Either to abandon the Church of God or to recover and confirm at the same time its Renown and Grandeur Whereas now those who envy your Happiness from their Height look down upon you This Promotion will be no sooner made but they will be compell'd to lift up their Eyes to see you in a Condition very different from your former whereas many judge by Appearances which often deceive that there is Blindness or Weakness in your Conduct Blindness if you do not see the Condition you are in and Weakness and an abandoning of yourself if you will not make use of those Remedies which you have in your Power Some will commend your Prudence others will admire your Power and you will be esteemed by all Men for your Ability in securing your Fortune and the Interests of the Church which are much dearer to you than your own If any one blame me because I think I see a-far off which they think your Eminence doth not judge to be so nigh give me leave to say That the Publick and your Interests are always so present and so much affect me that Paris is not so far from Rome but I can see clearly what Matters of Importance happen in both places I know very well that his Holiness's Chair is the Seat of Wisdom principally in the Life of so great a Pope But as it is with Men in that which most concerns them as with those who cannot see because they are dazled with the Light which is too nigh them I am sure your Eminence will pardon me if I presume in this thing to be so clear-sighted as to conjure you to prefer my Sentiments before those which you esteem to have had hitherto I conjure you by the Care which you ought to have that the succeeding Actions of his Holiness answer the Lustre of those that are past so that it is with the Judgments of the World as with those of God who judges Men by their last Actions Men would not esteem the Life of so great a Pope being destitute of Wisdom because this Virtue would seem not to have been the Motive of his last Thoughts Finally I conjure you by the Desire you have to prolong the Pope's Days whose Life probably will be the more assured the greater cause of Contentment it shall have which I wish him so heartily that I beg of God an ample Effusion of his Blessings upon his whole House and upon your Person to whom I am c. LETTER CCLII To Cardinal Barberini My LORD TAking the boldness to write to our holy Father upon the account of Mareschal D'Estre the interest that I know you have with his Holiness makes me take Pen in hand to conjure you to consider the Merit of this Affair and the Consequences which it may produce and upon this consideration to manage it with his Beatitude so as may satisfie the King's desires And tho' I do not doubt but his Holiness approving of the Reasons which I make bold to represent to him in my Letter will pass by those which have hitherto hindred him to give him this satisfaction I promise myself that he will the more easily agree to it when he shall be fortified by your good Offices which I beseech you to contribute upon this occasion in which not only the interest of his Holiness is concern'd but that of his whole House of which the King will always have as great care as of his own the particular knowledge that I have of this truth makes me give you a firm assurance of it Be pleased therefore firmly to believe it since the Proofs that his Majesty will give in all Occurrences to the advantage of his Holiness and his Relations will better confirm the certainty of it than my words which I only make use of at present to conjure you to believe that I am c. LETTER CCLIII To Victor Amedeus Duke of Savoy SIR THe Sieur de St. Michael will give your Highness a particular Account of what pass'd at the taking of Privas which on the eighth day after the Trenches were opened was carried on so briskly that they were forced to surrender upon discretion I thought it my Duty to inform you That during the Siege we surprized some Letters which Clausel who is with your Highness writ to Monsieur de Rehen to desire him to do Miracles against the King because of the great hopes he has of Assistance from your Parts You may Sir very well imagine that we desire that the good Understanding betwixt the King and you may be continued that those Negotiations may not be at your Court by Persons who are in your power His Majesty has at present one of the Brothers of the said Clausel in his hands he was taken in Privas He has been so kind to him that as yet he is not punished according to his Merits As to what remains I promise my self that the Affection which you have for Madam will influence you to give her satisfaction about the Affair of Pomeuse as I have formerly
moreover offer'd him the Marshal d' Ancre's Daughter for his said Son which Monsieur d'Espernon refused and the said Lady died soon after At this very time Mons de Bullion came for shelter to Mons d'Espernon not thinking himself safe in his own Houses The Chancellor de Sillery and Puisieux his Son also beg'd shelter of him in Mets which was granted them but matters altering at Court before they had executed that design they also alter'd their minds After his return from Aurix and some stay at Xaintes he went from thence to Bourdeaux much about the tâ—me the War was resolv'd upon against the Princes At the beginning of the Siege of Soissons Mons de Bullion who had all-along kept a secret correspondence with the Duke de Bouillon laid the first Foundation of a third Party and made a Proposal to the Duke d'Espernon to joyn with the Marshal d'Esdiguieres Bellegrade and other Lords to prevent the ruin of the Princes which seeur'd inevitable under pretence of desiring a Peace But the Treaty went on so slowly and the Siege of Soissons was prosecuted with so much vigor that I am of opinion there was not time enough to bring it to perfection And tho the Duke d'Espernon seem'd inclinable to Bullion's Propositions and was in hopes to prevail with the Marshal de Rocquelaure the first President of Bourdeaux and and part of the Nobility and of the Parliament of Gayenne yet there was no great likelihood of bringing matters to a conclusion Bullion knows more Particulars of that affair than I do The Duke d'Espernon was informed at that time that something was treating with the King about the Mareschal d'Ancre without knowing positively what it was But the matter was soon clear'd by the news of his death the detention of the Queen-mother in the Louvre and her Journey to Blois whither she was sent two days after it Hereupon Mons d'Espernon dispatched du Plessis to the King to congratulate his Majesty upon what he had done against the Mareschal d'Ancre and at the same time charg'd the said du Plessis to wait on the Queen-mother at Blois and to make a Compliment to her upon her misfortune He also dispatched Mons de la Valette to Court with a resolution to follow him as he did within a few months and being come to Loches he sent some Soldiers to the said Sieur de la Valette to be distributed in the first Company of the Guards But Mons de Luynes having notice of it being very suspicious as fearing the Duke's having a design against his Person he represented it so hainously to the King that Mons de la Valette was oblig'd to remove the said Soldiers and send them to Mets. This was the first Proof Mons d'Espernon had of Mons de Luynes ill-will towards him and I believe it would have stopt his Journey to Court had he not received this News so near Paris that he could not possibly go back without a manifest Breach Soon after his arrival at Court he discover'd on two occasions that Mons de Luyne was not pleas'd with his presence The first was in the promotion of the Archbishop of Paris to the Cardinalship who was preser'd to the Archbishop of Tholouse notwithstanding his Nomination was Ten years after his The other was in the Dispute of the Dukes with the Lord Keeper du Vair in which tho the Cause was common and that the Duke de Montmorency was Speaker yet the fault was only laid at Mons d'Espernons Door And it is certain that the King was so exasperated against him that he gave him to understand that his presence at Court was displeasing to him so that he immediately took leave of his Majesty and left Paris within a few days During his abode at Paris several persons spoke to him from the Queen mother and others to the Archbishop of Thoulouse The Marquis de Mosni was the first who carried a Letter from Chanteloube to the said Archbishop and prest him to go to him in the Country but the Duke d'Espernon disapproved it and answer'd That he would answer to nothing till he were come to Mets. This did not hinder Madamoiselle du Tillet from coming to him nor from delivering a Letter to him from the Queen-mother together with a Diamond-Watch her Majesty sent him She prevailed with him to read the Letter and keep the Watch but he would engage to nothing while he was at Paris When he went from thence he design'd to spend some days at Fontenay to order his affairs but Guron having given him notice from the Chancellor if I am not mistaken that he was not safe there he left it immediately Soon after his arrival at Mets the Queen-mother sent Vincens to him formerly Secretary to the Mareschal d'Ancre who was ordered to make his application to the Archbishop of Thoulouse as he did He had a Letter of Credence from the Queen-mother to Mons d'Espernon full of Civility and assurances of Good-will The said Archbishop having acquainted the Duke that this man was come to him and that he was commanded to speak to him he appointed to meet him the next day at the said Archbishops house Vincens Credentials were That her Majesty not thinking her self safe at Blois where the ill treatment she received gave her just cause to fear worse according to the Intelligences she daily received about it had cast her Eyes upon Mons d'Espernon to desire Resuge in some of his Towns and that she was of opinion that Loches being the nearest to Blois iâ— would also be most proper to receive her He was about to urge several Reasons to perswade the said Duke to do the Queen this Service but he found him so well dispos'd to what her majesty desired that it was needless to say any more to him Not but afterwards he was sometimes in doubt as to the time of the execution of his Promise and put off his Journey from Mets near five months together but still he persever'd in the resolution of doing the Queen this Service to which he was the more induced by du Plessis perswasion and by his difidence of Monsiâ—ur de Luynes The Answer he made to Vincens after some slight Complaints of the Queen-mother was That he would serve her according to his desire but that in order to execute that design it was necessary for him to remove from Mets and that he could not leave that place in safety unless the Queen would allow him Fifty thousand Crowns for the payment of the Garrison He also told him that he could not hearken to that Treaty in case the Sieur de Ruccellai were acquainted with it because he looked upon him as his Enemy on the account of the Marquis de Rouillac Vincens answer'd to this That Ruccellai neither had nor should have the least knowledge of this Treaty that the Marquis de Mosni and Chanteloube were the only persons to whom the thing had been or should be
of bad Weather might be alone sufficient to ruine their Army I beseech you to have a particular Regard to what you are above desir'd and to believe that I am c. LETTER CLXXXVIII To the Mareschal Chatillon SIR THE Spaniards refusing to perfect the Treaty for Exchange of Prisoners I write you this Letter to desire you to cause a strict Search to be made throughout the whole Army for the Prisoners that are in it and to send 'em safely to this City where they shall be kept according to the King's Command I am assur'd you 'll make no Difficulty of this wherefore I shall conclude with fresh Protetestations that I am and will be always c. P. S. You may satisfie all such as shall have these Prisoners that I will be responsable for their Ransom and will actually pay 'em assâ—on as they shall come out of Prison The Count de Fuensaldagne had a Meeting promis'd to treat of Exchanges with the Count de Guiche but before they met the former sent a Trumpet to acquaint the latter that the Cardinal Infant had revoked his Commission in case he would not give his Word first to exchange Jean de Wert with the Marquess de Gesvres To which he was answered That Jean de Wert was already exchanged with Monsieur Horn which was true but nevertheless the Negotiation broke off LETTER CLXXXIX To Mareschal Schomberg SIR MY Business is not to answer the Commendations you load me with on account of the taking Arras because it is to be ascribed only to the Blessing of God on our Arms the Justice of our Cause and the Prudence and Courage of his Majesty But I will content myself to tell you that I do not doubt but you are sincere in your Joy upon this Account being always assur'd of your Steadfastness and Loyalty for the King's Service To recompence which to my Power will always be the Endeavours of c. LETTER CXC To Mareschal Chatillon SIR I Send you 100 or 120 Deserters which have been stopt in this Town and amongst which there are a great many Officers I desire you would try 'em by a Council of War as soon as possible Over and above that his Majesty's Interest requires he has expresly commanded me to acquaint you with his Pleasure on this Account I desire you to remember that the Officers hitherto have escaped unpunished wherefore it would be well to let these serve for Examples The Belief that I have that you will approve your Obedience to his Majesty's Commands concludes me c. LETTER CXCI. To the Same SIR I Have been surpriz'd to hear that you have not yet retrench'd your Bread but distributed every Day above 30000 Rations which occasions me to represent to you that if you go on after that rate you will introduce great Disorders into his Majesty's Army and reduce the War to unsurmountable Difficulties I am certain you will be ready to confess that there is no Reason to pretend to have but 15000 Men effectively in your Army and yet to distribute above 30000 Rations of Bread per Day I desire you to remedy this Disorder that I may give his Majesty an Account and moreover take care to subsist your Army In regard of your Reputation I don't question but you 'll be mindful of this Advice and how much I am c. LETTER CXCII To the Same SIR THE daily Complaints are made us as well by the Waggoners that go to and from Arras and your Army as by the Sutlers that come from thence of the ill Conduct of the Convoy chiefly at the return of the Waggons whereby they affirm That the Germans since the beginning of the Siege have taken above 30000 Crowns or Value which obliges me to write you this Letter to desire you to remedy this Disorder and by your Authority to prevent the like for the future I am assur'd you are so very sensible of the ill Consequence of this Affair that I think it needless to say more Nevertheless I cannot help telling you that if you do not take more care of the Waggons Sutlers and Traders for the future which come and go to and from the Camp it will be impossible to subsist the Troops and defend Arras as the King has commanded I conjure you once more to put an end to these Inconveniences and to believe that I am and will be c. LETTER CXCIII To Mareschal Chatillon SIR I Don't question but you 'll take all the Care imaginable of the Discipline of the Army I am very glad to hear you have regulated the Bread and that you will punish the Deserters hereafter to your Power and endeavour to prevent the like Disasters I have seen what you have writ me from divers places whereby you signifie you are able to subsist the Army till the end of this Month. Upon which I have nothing to say only that you knowing the King's Pleasure not to have his Army come into France before the Conclusion of the Month you would do prudently to keep 'em where they are or towards St. Pol on this side or towards the Quarters of Theronenne on the other till the said time be expired As to the Post of Marquion and Inchy besides many other Reasons the Difficulty of getting Provisions by reason of Bapaume and Cambray were alone sufficient to lay aside that Design I therefore beseech you Sir to subsist the Army where they are and where-ever else you shall judge most commodious till the end of this Month and to believe that there is no body sets greater store by your Friendship nor desires to give more frequent Proofs of his own than c. LETTER CXCIV To the Same SIR COming to Understand by your Letter to Monsieur Noyers that you intend to march from where you are Friday next I write you this to reinforce what I have formerly advised you on this account that it is very requisite for the King's Service that you think of some means to subsist the Troops in this or some neighbouring Place till the end of this Month and this for several Reasons that I cannot acquaint you with at present I pray you therefore for my sake to endeavour it to your Power and to assure yourself I will recommend this as also all other your past Services to his Majesty's Consideration that you may be deny'd nothing from him as by me who am c. LETTER CXCV. To the Same SIR IT would be to no purpose to have taken Arras if we don't endeavour to preserve it and which may easily be done providing it be well stor'd with every thing Upon this account 't is necessary for the Army to continue where it is or thereabouts till the end of this Month which is the shortest time can be propos'd to provide the Town of Provisions as it ought to be These Provisions as it is contriv'd cannot possibly come by any other way than Dourlans seeing some of the Corn comes from Abbeville and
'em and so concluded that his Retreat must be the end of this Affair This he grounded upon two Reasons First The Queen not being pleas'd to give an Account of the Occasion of her Anger and Indignation the Effect might be delayed for some time but the Cause not being taken away she could never be thoroughly appeased Secondly That not resolving to make known the Jealousies and Suspicions she might have of her Servants they might be convicted in her Thoughts of a Crime they were never guilty of without having any Means to prove their Innocence The Law never reputes a Man guilty till he is convicted and is always ready to receive a Justification where there is no positive Proof to prevent it If he had been allowed this Justice he had even esteemed himself happy in his Misfortune but on the contrary he had no such Liberty granted but bare Suspicions were both his Witnesses and Judges The evident Falseness of their Calumnies made his Accusers cautious not to make known their Informations nor their Persons As they were assured they could never maintain their Allegations they thought it best to repose their Security in their being conceal'd They perswaded the Queen that if she should discover herself to him there would be no Security for them for he would not only know 'em by their Names but also guess at 'em by the least Circumstance of the matter They added farther That his Wit was so piercing that if he had but the least knowledge of what they accused him he would immediately disguise himself so that black should seem white and that consequently she could never be able to find out the Truth By these Means all the Avenues and Ways he might make use of to shew his Innocence were stopt up and these Precautions had that Power over the Queen that whatever he could say in his behalf appear'd rather to be the Industry of his Wit than an innocent Truth She made as much of them that told her a Falshood as who discovered a Truth She kept all secret from one and the other and both were treated alike Which occasion'd every one to lend his Money freely without fear of its being enquired into the false Alloy She put as great Trust in her Jealousies as Oracles and flatter'd herself like Magicians who are bewitch'd with their false Science and which deceives 'em in most Points for one that may happen to be true The truth of one trifling Suspicion made her conclude fifty of greater Consequence infallible All these Considerations tormented the Cardinal's Mind more than is possible to be express'd He would freely have given his Life to have undeceived the Queen in the Designs and Artifices of his Enemies and has a hundred times begg'd of God to take him out of the World in her good Opinion He found himself attacked by a Disease and saw no Remedy to free him which made him resolve upon a Retreat as the only way to cure On the other side he considered That he who quits a Party loses it and who turns his Back upon the Court gives opportunity to them that are arm'd with Hatred and Envy to injure him unreveng'd He knew there were some that wish'd him ill for no other Reason but that they could not endure the Prosperity of the State and the Establishment of the King and consequently endeavoured to weaken both by prejudicing him He considered also that being once retreated they would endeavour to make his most signal Services not only false Steps but Crimes He thought further that if he should continue at Court and endeavour to regain the Queen's good Opinion by doing her all the Service he was capable of he could not prevent ill Men from representing to her that he tarry'd only to oppose her Pleasure He reflected that when he had formerly been in her Favour he found it difficult to preserve himself against the ill Advice was given her but now he thought it almost impossible to perswade her he serv'd her well tho' he should kill himself in the Endeavours He thought whilst he was in Place he could have no other Power than to injure himself it being certain that if God should give him any Opportunities to do his Country Service it would be to no purpose because he should be with held by so many Considerations fearing to do amiss and displease that it would be almost impossible to put any of 'em in Execution He saw plainly that tho' the Queen herself might be well affected to the State yet there were a great many People that sought to please her otherwise contributing to some ill Event the Blame of which might possibly be imputed to him so that he could not hope to have any Success from the best Design This he has often been sensible of by the Crosses he has met with in the greatest Affairs that have been concerted for these three Years He easily perceives his Afflictions do so enervate the Vigour of his Body and weaken his Mind in such manner that he shall not be able much longer to support any Publick Employment Also that he has so much to do to defend himself from those that torture him within that he shall not be capable any longer to resist his Enemies that assault him without He considered moreover that as he has been hitherto able to resist the Enemies of the State by the Queen's Favour he shall for the future be altogether incapable to oppose them being in Disgrace He also saw well that the Queen being once possessed against him she could not want malicious Spirits to foment and augment her Prejudice especially when they found she had so great a Disposition to it Whereas he formerly had been a Comfort to the Queen in her Afflictions he considered that her Jealousies and their Designs against him might now make him the Cause Thus having thoroughly weigh'd all these Reasons he resolved upon his Retreat as the only means to justifie his Fidelity and convince her Majesty that his Business at Court has always been hers and the King's Interest which as their Respect for him oblig'd him to it so that for them made him quit it Assoon as the Queen was inform'd of his Resolutions she did what she could to disswade him from it But her Jealousies preventing him to think himself secure he persisted in his Design He represented to her further that during his late Persecutions though those that sway'd the King aim'd at nothing but his Ruine yet he fear'd neither their Power nor their ill Will so long as he had her to speak in his Defence and that she would hear nothing to his Prejudice But now matters were in such a plight that her Heart is shut up her Mouth clos'd and her Ears open to every body against him So that finding himself slighted by her Majesty he determined to retire from the World But the King hearing of it would by no means suffer it and endeavoured all that was in his Power
different Sentiments thereupon What made me oppose your Journey at first was the knowledge I have of your Constitution which might be capable of Disorder But on the contrary the great Zeal I find you have to acquire Honour by your Arms made me easily consent to it as I do hereby a second time But nevertheless having seen a late Dispatch from Monsieur Vaubecourt I think it necessary you defer your going till Saint Michael be invested and your Troops gathered together It is impossible there should not a great many Changes happen in the Designs one undertakes in War because Resolutions must be taken upon the spot according to the Mation of the Enemies Otherwise one gains oftentimes more by Patience which is required in some occasions than by fighting which is the reason that the French Nation being very forward and hot in its Nature is esteem'd by all the World the least fit for War when those that are not so lively but more heavy and less fiery are thought the properest for it I humbly beg of your Majesty not to weary your self out nor to be vex'd at any Backwardness you may imagine in your Servants I can assure your Majesty that I think myself not a little oblig'd by the Letter you were pleas'd to honour me with and am of Opinion that if you had thought fit to chide me which you never yet did thro' the excess of your natural Goodness your manner of writing alone is so obliging that the satisfaction receiv'd by your charming words from the Pen of so great a King would abundantly surpass the Injury The Letter which you are concern'd about is far from offending the meanest of your Servants as your last has extraordinarily oblig'd him I return your Majesty a thousand humble thanks for your concern for the death of my Sister who I dare say is happy as well in respect of her being deliver'd from a great many pains she endured as for ending her days with so sincere a love towards her Maker I am and will be always c. LETTER CCXVIII To Monsieur Chavigny SIR I Send the King the Letter which he has desir'd by which he may find his Servants have not had any reason to Complain as in truth they never did only they must needs be a little affected with his Majesty's concern for them I have communicated to Monsieur Bullion the Article which the King was pleas'd to send me on the Reverse of one of his Letters which related to what Monsieur Hallier acquainted him That he had no Fund to subsist the Troops that should arrive Whereupon he has assur'd me and I know it to be true that there has been 20000 Livres put into Chauley's hands above these eight days for that purpose Also Monsieur Servien told me he had acquainted Monsieur Hallier that a Commissary of the Treasury and an Ammunition Officer were sent toward him And to be sure this Affair concerning him so much Monsieur Hallier by this time has not been wanting to take due care Nevertheless Monsieur Bullion has sent a second Order to dispatch another Commissary that there may be no further occasion of Complaint It were to to be wish'd that those who Command the Armies were as ready to obey Orders for their Subsistance as they are often forward to complain when for the most part their Negligence is the truest cause of their want LETTER CCXIX. To the KING SIR I Am overjoy'd to hear of your Health and to find there is nothing to be added to the Answer which your Majesty writ Monsieur Angoulesme and to the Resolution which had been taken I don't believe those of St. Michael expect your Majesty so soon which I would not have 'em that your Soldiers may surprize and plunder 'em out of hand Monsieur Angoulesme will no doubt be convinc'd by your Dispatch that you know more of the Matter than he And I cannot help once more acquainting your Majesty That nothing could be better thought on than what you commanded him and no more proper way to convince him of the weakness of his Designs The Swiss cannot be better bestow'd than where your Majesty designs 'em in Champagne and Picardy where I shall not fail to solicite earnestly Monsieur Chatillon to employ 'em in something that may be for your Majesty's Advantage After all I cannot but expect good Success from the Prudent Measures your Majesty takes If my Life could deliver you from Melancholly which I know afflicts you sometimes I would freely lay it down for that purpose But as it cannot I shall only study to preserve it to be employ'd as often as there shall be occasion for the greatest and best Master in the World to whom I will be eternally c. LETTER CCXX To the KING SIR I Am rejoyc'd to hear by the Count That your Majesty was never better in health than on your Journey as likewise by the last Letters from Monsieur Bouthillier that you had taken Physick whence thro' God's Assistance we may hope a good Effect The Count also acquainted me calmly with the Affronts he thought he had receiv'd complaining openly only of his Misfortune and Monsieur Chavigny who he was of opinion had power to prevent it I told him what I thought requisite upon the matter and must needs say I left him pretty well satisfied I can never enough wonder at the Baseness Ignorance or Malice of those who as your Majesty acquaints me endeavour to disparage your Designs But I think it necessary to stop those Gentlemens Mouths as soon as possible in the same manner as your Majesty has done formerly some others The Pope treats the Duke of Parma after that rate that it is necessary we take speedy care about him The Affair of Clauzel is of great Importance but having writ largely of all to Monsieur Chavigny I shall trouble your Majesty with no more but that I am and will be always c. LETTER CCXXI To Monsieur Bouthillier SIR I Suppose the Rebels of St. Michel won't go far beyond that place without being taken by Force or surrendering at Discretion I know the King is resolv'd to use 'em with a great deal of Rigour and I 'll assure you it is a matter of so great importance that it is scarce to be exprest My Thoughts are That the Officers deserve an immediate Punishment even next to death As to the common Soldiers the Gallies would be very proper for them as the only means that should be allow'd to save their lives For what belongs to the Inhabitants the Officers of Parliament and others the Councel of Ruel thinks they are to be divided into two Classes First Those that have fomented and favoured Duke Charles's Party contrary to their Oath of Allegiance to the King And Secondly Those that were drawn in Meré passive 'T is thought the King might pardon the first Class but as to the second they ought to be all hang'd unless the number be too great in
not venture his life and blood to defend so good a Cause and will do it generously provided he be assured that you take those Resolutions which are necessary for your safety which I in particular do passionately desire as being c. LETTER CCXXXIII To the Dutchess of Savoy MADAM I Have received those Letters which it pleased your Highness to honour me with which imparted both the joy you testifie for the happy Success of Cazal and the Accomodations of matters with your Brothers-in-law Whereupon I say that tho' I have explain'd my self sufficiently to your Ambassadour who I am certain has not omitted to send to you what I told him yet I cannot forbear to add That Prince Thomas's Conduct towards your Highness both by the rigour which he used toward those which he suspected to be well affected to your Service and by what he contributed toward the loss of Cazal and by the Artifices which he always used in the Negotiation which he manages with your Highness ought to make you break off entirely and prevent the Advantages which he hopes will accrue thereby and to make use of those which the Victory of Cazal gives you I cannot conceive how they who have the honour to be nigh your Highness if they are well affected to your Service can suggest any other counsel seeing if you listen to such a Negotiation you afford a notable opportunity to your Enemies to prejudice your Affairs If they will perswade you that by this Accommodation you secure the Tuition of your Son and that you will receive some advantage by the change which the Princes agree to make of the Governors of the Places which they hold I am amaz'd that common sence doth not dictate that in dividing your Authority with your Brothers-in-law it will by so much the more be diminish'd as the fear which the Subjects and Magistrates shall have of them will induce them rather to be on their side than yours As to what they declare to you that this Agreement may put an end to the Civil War in Piedmont one must be void of judgment not to foresee that your Highness being allied to France and the Princess to Spain the cause of the Division and consequently the War still remains Further it would be very prejudicial to the King 's and your Highness's Service if His Majesty should attack Turin while you are agreed with your Brothers-in-law Because in this case every one would say That it was not your Son's interest which put you upon this design but his Majesty's to possess himself of this place And since he writes particularly to his Ambassadour upon this subject to let you know his mind I shall not say any thing about it in this Letter But yet I will add before I conclude That those who advise you to continue the Negotiation with those Princes and to conclude it without an Union at the same time with France for your Interest testify too publickly that the fear of them prevails more than the affection which they owe to your Highness upon which account give me leave to add That it would Madam have been very serviceable to you that after so much contempt which Prince Thomas has shewn of your Highness if you had neither admitted him into your Presence nor given Audience to his Envoy and the rather because he has raised some difficulties about some matters relating to your Son 's and your Interest for if you had done thus you had oblig'd him to have recourse to more humble measures to regain your Highness's Friendship seeing that the happy success of his Majesty's Arms at Cazel may in time reduce him to great extremities To conclude I beseech your Highness to consider that all your Welfare next to God depends upon the King's Protection and to follow the advice he gives you who have no other end but to defend you from your Enemies and to re-establish your Son and yourself in such a Condition as he desires which as to my particular I wish with all the Zeal imaginable both for the Glory of his Majesty and your Son's and Highness's Welfare c. P. S. The Affair of Querasque let 's you see that beside the Premises Prince Thomas has no other Design but to reduce your States by amusing you with fine Words LETTER CCXXXV To the Dutchess of Savoy MADAM I Cannot tell who it is that advises you at present to go into Piedmont while your Affairs are in those circumstances since such a Journey may be so far from making them better that it may be dangerous to your Person When Turin is taken you may go into Piedmont with reputation and deporting yourself with discretion which you generally do your Presence will be useful to your Son's and your own interest If something must be denied Prince Thomas it is better that your Ministers should do it than your Highness And it is more convenient that you be at some distance from Turin than nigh it till it is taken As to the Composition of Turin which you are pleased to mention the King will give the Count de Harcourt Orders what he shall do both for your Advantage and his Service As his Majesty is always disposed to receive Prince Thomas when he has a mind to unite himself to France it is convenient to use to your advantage the present opportunity which God is pleased to give you and so to behave yourself as not not to lose the Fruit by too much precipitation The Letters which were taken in the Baggage of the Marquess de Leganez give you such a manifest proof of the Infidelity with which Prince Thomas seemed to treat with your Highness that you must either be blind or your own Enemy if you do not believe that all his Treaties with you will be of the same nature unless he come over for the King and wholly deceive the Spaniards The best and the only thing that you can do for the advancement of your Affairs is to send all the Troops you can to the Count Harcourt without losing a moment and use all diligence to promote that business He on his part labours with so much Care and Expence that he deserves to be seconded by your Highness in such an important Juncture As for me Madam nothing shall be wanting on my part to testifie that I am c. I am glad that your Highness has given Orders for the Security of Montmeillian in expelling Monod he was a very dangerous Man in a place of that consequence LETTER CCXXXVI To Monsieur de la Cour. SIR I Am very glad to learn by your Express the Passages of the Place where you are and Madam's present Inclination to unite herself intirely to the King's Interest and to follow the Advice which his Majesty and his Servants shall give her for her Welfare But she has hitherto been so insensible that I fear it is only a seeming Change in her Mind and that she has no mind to be
Comprotection of France in the Person of Cardinal Anthony because he only desired he should Exercise that Office to let the World know the particular Affection he has to the Pope's Family and to have more Ways to keep the two Brothers united when their Interests shall more require it They shall also particularly make known to Cardinal Anthony the Satisfaction the King has in him and shall give him Assurance of his Protection and Assistance in all things They shall communicate to Cardinal Bentivoglio the Resolution the King takes to put an end to the Preconisation of the Consistorial Benefices till the Pope putting an end to the Prohibition which he has given Cardinal Anthony repair the Injury which by that means they would do France And shall let him know That it is not that his Majesty dislikes that he should continue to Execute the Office of Comprotector but only that he might not give this Advantage to the Spaniards to think that France yields to their Desires In the mean time if his Holiness coming to himself will give his Majesty that Satisfaction which Justice and Reason require permitting Cardinal Anthony to Exercise the Functions of the Office of Comprotector for whom it doth not seem that the Pope has lost his Cause and the King has gained his yet his Majesty thinks it good that the Embassadours consent to this following Expedient which is That it be a Month before Cardinal Anthony execute the Functions of his Office in the Consistory upon condition that from that moment his Holiness pass his Word to the said Embassadours That from that time he shall agree That he Execute his Office without having a new Licence from his Holiness This Overture has not been made to Cardinal Bichi that the Embassadours may be able to manage it so much the better because they only are acquainted with it If the Pope is not satisfied things shall be left in the forementioned condition without any Preconisation of the French Affairs in the Consistory yet Mareschal Crequi shall return by the way of Venice giving his Holiness a Testimony That the Respect his Majesty has for the Church is such That notwithstanding former Passages the King has not failed to give him order to Negotiate the Pope's Affairs at Venice as tho' his Majesty had not been disobliged In taking leave of his Holiness the said Mareschal as well on the King 's as his own part shall make him all the Compliments imaginable assuring him withal That his Majesty will never change his Resolution concerning the Comprotection being by no means able to endure that any other beside Cardinal Anthony exercise that Office LETTER CCXLVII. To the POPE Most Holy FATHER AMong other Displeasures with which the Piety of the King is afflicted as he beholds the Miseries the Church suffers by the Division and Discord of Christian Princes his Majesty has been sensibly dissatisfied with the evil Proceedings of some of the Spanish Ministers toward your Holiness and with the little Respect which was paid you by one of those who are the most obliged to honour you I cannot enough admire that he has so far forgot himself as to have used nothing but Complaints and some less decent Terms instead of Praises and most humble Thanks which are due to the singular Goodness and Wisdom of your Government Your Holiness has always appeared so manifestly to desire the Peace of Christendom and to appease the Differences which might trouble it that there is no body if he be not prejudiced with Passion but must acknowledge that you have omitted nothing that you thought convenient to promote so good a Design If amongst all those who are compell'd to behold this Truth some do profess the contrary any Man may plainly see that it is Interest alone which makes them shut their Eyes at Justice and open their Mouths to speak against the Sentiments of their own Conscience It seems that God has permitted things of this nature which are lately pass'd that your Holiness may receive new Testimonies of the Zeal of the most pious and the greatest-Prince of Christendom who will always think it a singular Glory to promote your Interest and to partake of the Cares and the good Resolutions your Holiliness has always had for the Advancement of Religion and the Establishment of the Publick Tranquility to which he thinks it will not a little contribute to let the World know the Deference which is due to the Holy Chair and to the Person of a Pope of such rare and singular Vertues as your Holiness As for me most holy Father I should think my self altogether unworthy of the Honour I have in the Church and the Favours I receive from so vertuous a Prince as he is to whose Service I am devoted with all manner of respects if I did not earnestly desire that Peace which your Holiness and his Majesty so passionately wish for Christendom which has hitherto been disturbed by those who desire to appear contrary to one another I hope that God will make this Truth more manifest to the World and that your Holiness will have reason to confess that as the King gladly makes use of all his Power to the Glory of God the Good of the Church and the Publick Tranquility he will lose no opportunity to give you Proofs of his sincere Affection for the interest of your Family which according to his Intentions and your Holiness's Merits I will always endeavour to promote as it is my Duty who am c. LETTER CCXLVIII To the Same Most Holy Father THo' the Choice which it has pleased your Holiness to make of the Person of Monsieur Mazarin to employ him in the Negotiation of the Affairs of Italy makes every one conceive how capable you judged him for it I think myself obliged to give this Testimony of him That he has behaved himself so well that beside the Love of all the Princes with whom he has treated which he has gained the King also was very much satisfy'd with him He will assure your Beatitude of the sincere Affections his Majesty has for you and to what degree he honours you not only by reason of your Dignity but also because of the great Merits of your Person As to my particular I most humbly beseech you to believe that I perceive myself so inseparably united to this Duty that all my Actions shall be so many Proofs of this Truth and of the Zeal and inviolable Constancy with which I am and ever will be c. LETTER CCXLIX To the Same Most Holy Father I Have this great while struggled in my self if I ought to represent to your Holiness the great Mischiefs which France suffers by reason of the Delays which for some time have been made use of in the Court of Rome in the Expedition of the Bulls of the Bishops nominated to your Holiness by his Majesty but at last the Salvation of Souls the Reputation of your Holiness and the Fear of my being
to your Majesty for the favour you have been pleas'd to do me in sending me the Portraiture of Monseigneur the Dauphin whose Image I Reverence as I shall his Person as long as I live I pray to God that they who shall come after me may serve him as faithfully as I have always endeavour'd to serve the King his Father and your Majesty to whom I shall ever be c. LETTER XI To the Archbishop of Bourdeaux YOu will do me an Injury to believe that any Alliance is capable to hinder me from assisting and serving yee when you have aâ— occasion for it My Humour is so far from any such manner of proceeding that I believe that such a thought can never enter into the mind of any person whatsoever I most earnestly desire to see a good Correspondence betwen M. d' Espernon and you I dare promise it between my Lords his Sons And though I am not ignorant that it is a difficult thing for them that are harden'd in their Humour by Age to alter it yet I am not out of hopes to see a good issue of what I desire I beg of you to contribute towards it what lies in your power assuring you that whoever shall have most Reason and Justice on his side in the Differences which after this time may happen between yee shall be the person whom I will serve most candidly I believe that my assistance will not be very necessary to any body but I find my self oblig'd to offer it to him that has the better cause Assure your self of my Friendship for ever and be convinc'd that nothing can alter the Quality of c. LETTER XII To the same Person I Am extreamly glad that M. d' Espernon has made Restitution to the Church of what is her due in order to repair the Injury which she receiv'd in your Person and that it is now known to all the World that there is no consideration that can hinder me from favouring so just a Cause as yours was according to the intentions of a King so Pious as his Majesty is known to be The Abbot of Coursan acquainted me with every particular that past in that Affair if that be true of which I have not had the leisure yet to ascertain my self that you have not pursu'd his Holiness's intentions signify'd to you by his Briefs I must needs tell you that you would have done better had you done otherwise In the Name of God regulate your Actions and your Words in such a manner that there may be no objection to be made against your Behaviour You know how many times I have admonish'd you to be careful of the quickness of your Wit and the nimbleness of your Tongue As it was always my fear that those two Enemies were the greatest you had I must confess that I am more affraid of 'em now then ever and conjure yee to be more reserv'd for the love of your self assuring you that I give so little heed to what the said Abbot inform'd me of your being transported in your passion to reflect upon me that 't is no consideration of my self which enclines me to give you this Advice The Justice that has been done you in your Business makes the King's Piety so clearly manifest and the assistance of my Friends that he must have lost his Judgment who thinks there can be any bad impression made either of the one or the other Never were Sentences more Authentick then those which his Holiness and the King's Council pronounc'd upon this Difference and he cannot be master of himself who says that they were ever chang'd Therefore seeing such Discourses would but do you an Injury many others which you are said to give out sometimes would bring a Reproach upon your Gratitude which in my Opinion ought not to permit you to complain of Fortune who has done for you from your early Youth what she does not usually do for others till after long Time spent in tedious Services Were I not really your Friend I would not talk to you in this manner But being desirous to continue the same as I have always been I find my self oblig'd to what I do because that several Persons not knowing yee so well as I do will not so easily excuse what I believe proceeds from Vanity rather then from any other evil Cause I promise my self therefore that your Carriage will be such as your Friends ought to desire it and as I particularly wish it may be As being c. LETTER XIII To the same Person YOU will know more News by the Abbot of Coursaâ— then I can write to yee He brings yee all the Satisfaction you can desire M. d'Espernon will receive Absolution at your hands will visit yee will give yee the Right Hand at his own House when you repay him his Visits He will engage himself to build the Chappel within the Time limited by Cardinal Bichi You shall have your Decree which you have so earnestly desired as a Mark of the Satisfaction which the King has order'd to be given yee So that there is nothing more in Reason for yee to desire I am willing to believe that M. d'Espernon will very honestly perform whatever is requisite upon this Occasion But tho' he should not I desire yee so to demean your self that the World may be convinc'd there is no Fault on your part I conjure yee also for the future to take such Care of your Actions that whatever happens the Wrong may not be laid at your Door assuring you provided that Equity and Right be on your side that you shall have no less Assistance from me then hitherto you have had Of this you may be convinc'd and that I shall always be unalterably c. LETTER XIV To the same Person I know not how to testifie my Sorrow to you for that there is nothing as yet done in order to the Attack which ought to have been made upon the Islands after the Waste of so much Time and Money The Mischief is that they who have no Kindness for you lay the greatest part of the Blame upon your self which afflicts me beyond what I am able to express as well in respect of the Interest of the King's Service as for the Share which I take in all your Concerns For this Reason as your Friend I cannot forbear telling you that as Relapses render Sicknesses more grievous so if after having fail'd to attack the Islands you neglect the Relief of Parma now that that there is no body who is able as you pretend to obstruct your Enterprize all your Friends together will not be able to defend you from the Blame that will be imputed to you upon this second Default For this Reason it is that I conjure you as much as in me lies to attempt Impossibilities upon this Occasion to the end you may repair what has been done amiss assuring you that I will make the best of this Action to the King as
be pleas'd to favour His Majesty's good Intentions there is great Reason to hope that he may obtain those Ends which he has always propos'd to himself for the common Good My Assurance that you will leave nothing omitted that depends upon your Prudence and Care to persuade him to obliges me to say no more but that I am c. A Memoir sent to M. de Berhune after the taking of the Cittadel of Pignerol MOnsieur Bethune will see by the Answers of Monsieurs Spinola and Colalto to the Proposals contain'd in the Rough Draught of the Peace which Monsieur the Cardinal has sent to M. Pancirollo how unreasonable the said Answer is and the little Likelihood that we can be satisfied with it in order to the procuring a solid Peace to the end that after he has consider'd it he may take his time to inform the Pope of it Which done he shall beseech His Holiness to let the Spanish Ambassador know his Sentiments upon it which according to Equity cannot be otherwise then conformable to His Majesty's to the end that the Spaniards being out of hopes of concealing any longer their Artifices from His Holiness may be constrain'd to agree in things that are just and which may as well for the present as for the future remove all Occasions of any farther Troubles The said Sieur de Bethune shall represent to His Holiness That one of the principal Reasons why the King sent his Forces into Italy having been the often re-iterated Instances of His Holiness it would be an extream Grief to him should His Holiness testifie any Coldness to favour a Design to which he was induc'd with so much the more Zeal because His Holiness approv'd the Justice of it and rightly apprehended how much the Success of it would conduce to the Liberty of Italy to establish the Dignity of the Holy See and to the Security of the Pope's Person which were the most forcible Arguments that could move His Majesty That although His Holiness is desirous to preserve the Name and Effect of Common Father that ought not to hinder him but oblige him rather to make use of his Authority to chastise those who trouble the Family and reduce 'em to their Duty instead of assisting 'em in the Execution of their wicked Intentions And this was apparently done by His Holiness's Ministers in the State of Ferrara where they reliev'd the Germans with Corn when all Italy knows that without that Relief they could not have subsisted though they made use of it only to commit with more Leisure and Convevenience the greatest Prophanations of holy Things and the most horrid Cruelties upon all sorts of Persons that are not to be imagin'd Moreover the said Corn was set at so high a Rate that we have Reason to think it was done on purpose to scare the Venetians from buying it which the Germans were willing to do considering the Extremity they were in and not wanting Money after they had plunder'd the State of Mantua and all the neighbouring Princes for which they may thank the Pope's Officers M. de Bethune is also to complain of His Holiness's granting Passage several times to the Troops in their March from Naples into Milanols and so desire him to let the French have the same Privilege when they shall have an Occasion to march through his Fortresses to aid the Venetians and the Duke of Mantua The said Sieur de Bethune shall tell him The King cannot believe though he be well assur'd of it that His Holiness or his Nephew the Legate have within this little while been very importunate with the Duke of Mantua to agree these Differences without giving any notice of it to the King As also to beg the Emperor's Pardon which would suppose that he and his Confederates had been too blame in upholding a Cause so just and of which His Holiness all along declar'd his Approbation M. de Bethune must have receiv'd a Letter which the Cardinal wrote him about Fifteen Days ago wherein he sends him word that the King would be extreamly pleas'd if His Holiness would but lay his Commands upon Bagni to reside in his Army in Italy that so he might be a Testimony of His Majesty's good Intentions and his just proceeding upon this Occasion And that he would do well to be very importunate with His Holiness in the very Terms of the Letter But if the Letter be not come to his hands and he finds the Pope is not inclin'd to what is desir'd M. de Bethune shall renew his Instances in that Particular and use such Arguments as he shall think most proper to persuade His Holiness to condescend to His Majesty's Desire considering that he knows the Prudence the Probity and Affection of the said Cardinal to His Holiness and the common Good Nevertheless avoiding to give the Pope any Occasion to believe that this proceeds from any Distrust of those whom he employs or that the King seeks after a Peace but only because the said Cardinal Bagni having been a long time vers'd in this Affair can be no Prejudice to His Holiness's Design for the publick Repose more especially seeing the Decease of Don Carlo his Brother may render the Presence of the said Cardinal most useful in those Quarters LETTER LXXXVI From Card. Richlieu to the said Sieur de Bethune I Send you the Memoir annex'd which I desire you carefully to peruse and then to acquaint His Holiness with it I promise my self that you will omit nothing that depends upon your Care and Prudence to make the Pope clearly sensible that all the Proposals of these Gentlemen tend to no other End then to compleat the Ruin of the Duke of Mantua and to deprive Italy of that little Liberty she has left her by the Words of a Peace under which they hatch the Seeds of a perpetual War if the Authority of His Holiness and the Princes of Italy who are principally concern'd therein being assisted by His Majesty's good Intentions and Puissance do not apply a speedy Remedy This is all I have to say to yee in this Letter expecting to hear from yee LETTER LXXXVII To Cardinal Lodovisio after the Taking of Pignerol I am here at the Gate of Italy with a Design to do what lies in my power under the King's Commands and Authority to settle a safe and solid Peace I have so good an Opinion of your Judgment that I make no question but that you clearly see into His Majesty's good Intentions who following the Example of his Predecessors has propos'd to himself as the principal End of his Actions to support the Honour and settle the Security of the Holy See and establish the Repose of Christendom I presume to hope from the Goodness of God who is a Witness of this Truth that he will vouchsafe his Blessing upon the Care His Majesty takes in the Defence of so just a Cause LETTER LXXXVIII To M. de Bethune I was very glad to find by the
when he is constrain'd to do otherwise then he desires And therefore you cannot but judge it convenient that what I write you by his Command should have the desir'd Effect Be pleas'd however to assure Monsieur of my Passion to honour him and of my humble Service And for your own part believe that I am c. LETTER CX To the same THE Affection which I bear you causes me to send away this Courier purposely to let you know that if you find that Monsieur is got beyond Nantes into a place where he may be too strong for you to fetch him thence I advise yee by no means to go thither but only to send him word that you are coming to wait upon him to let him know that his Journey is the Occasion of too much Discourse and that it would be more conducible to his Service to remove all Grounds of Suspicion I thought it also my Duty to tell yee that there are five or six Men of War in the Port of Brest which shall do whatever you command 'em to hinder if it be possible any single Vessel from carrying away Monsieur contrary to his Interest And if they are sail'd out of the Haven their Rendevouz is in the Island of Bas to the end you may make use of 'em in case of Necessity I send you this Advice by the Inspiration of honest Huron But in my Opinion if Monsieur has been pleas'd to act most prejudicial to his Person which I perfectly honour these Remedies will be but * Some ill-pronounced Word which I do not understand unless he means Chimera's Simeres to use the Expressions of honest Colonel Hebron I must confess that I impatiently expect to hear from you If Monsieur has not committed the Fault which some suspect him to be guilty of you shall remonstrate to him how injurious these Reports are to the King's Service If he has gone astray you must not fail to go into Bretaigne and take such Care that all things may be every where secure Whatever Apprehensions come into my Head sometimes I cannot but adhere to the first Opinion which you and I have always had that Monsieur could never be so extreamly blind as to be guilty of what he is accus'd at this day Time will soon manifest what People ought to believe on this Subject and it will convince you more and more that I am c. LETTER CXI To the same HAving seen by a Letter from M. Bouthillier your Father that the King has declar'd to him that I went about to hinder his going to the Army I beseech yee to make known to His Majesty that I am so far from that that I desir'd you to hasten away on purpose to persuade him to the contrary You are a faithful Testimony that the first time you came to Monceaux your Journey tended to quite another End All the Letters which I wrote since manifest the same Truth Your Journey now is to no other end then to shew the Necessity of his going You know very well that I have not been the Cause of his being retarded The King resolv'd upon it himself during your first Journey Since M. de Vaubecourt sent word to His Majesty that he ought not to go and M. Bouthillier sent me Letters subscrib'd to the end I should take the more notice of ' em Upon that I never minded sending word that they should proceed any farther for fear it should be thought I had not that Consideration which I ought to have of His Majesty's Safety which is a hunder'd times dearer to me then my own Life Not that I ever thought him to be in the least Danger But in such a thing as that 't is for the King to take his own Resolutions I must acknowledge that my Heart is sometimes pierc'd with Imaginations in reference to the King whose Safety and Prosperity are continually in my Thoughts yet not forgetting a particular Care to conform my self to his Humours You may shew that Letter of the King 's if you please and the Memoir which I drew up the Night before I receiv'd the Dispatch from Monsieur your Father His Majesty is too good I am certain not to comply with my Sentiments which he shall deem just You know that such Occasions as these ruin my Health more then all the Toil of Business c. LETTER CXII To the same I Cannot express my deep Sorrows for the Loss of the Sieurs de Movy Cabusac and Londigny I am over-joy'd that they valu'd nothing in Comparison of the King's Service upon an Occasion so important as that for which they laid down their Lives But I am of Opinion we have lost more then I can tell you I shall pay to their Memories all that may be done as a Mark of their Worth I cast my Eyes upon the Sicur Cabusac's Brother as fit to supply his Place I know well that he has been of the contrary Party and marry'd one of Marriliac's Neices but in my Opinion his Probity is above all that However because I will do nothing before I know the King's Preasure I desire you to speak of it to His Majesty and to beseech him to let me understand his Will not only as he is my Master but as he would do were he a private Person to one that he would vouchsafe to honour with his Favours I do not speak of the Gens-d ' Armes because as His Majesty knows they ascend by degrees I am so afflicted that I can say no more c. LETTER CXIII To the same MAdam of Savoy having been pleas'd to direct the Courier to me who brings the News of the Taking the City and Castle of Verrve by the King's Forces to the end that the sune Courier might assure me in her Name that if hitherto I did not believe Her Highness had a Kindness for me I should be of a contrary Belief for the future she giving me an Assurance of it upon the lucky Event of this good News 'T is my Opinion that Mâ—de Chavigny may make use of the same Occasion by acquainting the King with it to let him know that it lies in his Goodness to contribute towards the Health and Repose of the Mind and Bodies of his Creatures as he sees that others do who seem not to have so much Interest therein as His Majesty has been hitherto pleas'd to take out of his mere Goodness LETTER CXIV To the same THE Duke of Lorrain's intercepted Dispatch to the Cardinal Infanta which you sent me last in order to be decypher'd is of that Importance that I send it you back with the same Speed uncypher'd By that you will see the Disorder that reigns among our Enemies and that if the King pursues his Design of turning towards Burgundy after the Taking of St. Michel and following the Duke close at the Heels they hold themselves for lost I am very glad that this Dispatch justifies that the Counsels that were long ago given to ruin
few days nominated the Abbot of Chastelliers to the Bishoprick of Agen and written to his Holiness to pleasure him with the free Gift of his Bulls I write yee these Lines most earnestly to intreat you that you will vouchsafe him the Effects of your Protection upon this occasion Besides his Majesty's Recommendation the Honour which he has to be nearly related to Marshal Schomberg and his particular merit so well known to every Body even in the place where you are will I am confident prevail with you to procure him the favour which he desires Besides this favour will be a greater Obligation to me then I can Express and I shall endeavour to revenge my self upon all Opportunities of serving you that shall present themselves and that with the same Affection as I am and ever will be c. LETTER CLXXVII To the same MY Joy for the Promotion of my Brother to the degree of Cardinal obliges me to write you these Lines to the end I may make it manifest by all the returns of Thanks which I am able to repay you I beseech you to believe that I shall carefully seek all ways to make you sensible of my acknowledgment I promise my self that his Holiness will not repent of having assumed him into the number of his Creatures and that you will acknowledge one day that his service has not been unprofitable and I hope within a little time he will confirm yee in the belief of his particular Devotion to your Eminency so that he will be at Rome what I shall be always dispos'd to be near the person of the King who has so great an Affection for your Family that I should fail in pursuing his Intentions which to me are Laws inviolable should I omit to manifest upon all opportunities that I am c. LETTER CLXXVIII To the same THE Chevalier de Roche Coulombe having receiv'd a Box of the Ear from the Chevalier de Janlis which oblig'd him by the Laws of Honour to draw upon him where e're he met him and having kill'd him at the first pass I have been besought by Persons of Quality to beg of you that you would intercede to his Holiness for his Pardon and by that means to restore him to the Rank he held in his Service and the Priviledges he may have forfeited by the Fact he has committed In doing for him you will oblige several who will be sharers in his acknowlegment of your Favour and particularly my self who am c. LETTER CLXXIX To the Cardinal of Lorrain MY Distemper is quite gone off thanks be to God the Surgeon whom the King sent me with all speed having cur'd me with one slit of his Lancet I am extreamly oblig'd to your Eminency for your good Opinion of me judging well that your Civility is so great as to do more then your Friends can expect from me I beseech yee not to think any more of putting your self to the trouble of coming hither if I should stay here frankly acknowledging that my sorrow for the inconvenience you would suffer for my sake in a place where I could not be able to receive you as I desire would be enough to augment my Malady which I desire to be rid of as soon as I can that I may be in a condition the more able to manifest how sincerely I am c. LETTER CLXXX To Cardinal Barberini UNderstanding by my Brother the Cardinal of Lyon's Letters the Favours your Eminency was pleas'd to do him upon his arrival at Rome 't is impossible for me any longer to delay the return of all acknowledgments which it is possible for me to make beseeching your Eminency to believe that my Brother is altogether as sensible of your kindnesses as you can desire wherein I presume so great a share that both the one and the other will be ready to serve your Eminency upon all occasions with the same Affection as I have been and always shall be c. LETTER CLXXXI To Cardinal Antonio THE Testimonies which your Eminency has hitherto given me of your Affection to France and particularly to the person of the King causes me to take my Pen in Hand to beseech your Eminency that you would be pleas'd to add one more in reference to the Marshal d' Estrees by contributing your Endeavours that his Holiness may give his Majesty satisfaction in his behalf I shall not repeat the reasons contain'd in the Letter which I wrote to his Holiness by which he seems to be oblig'd not to deny his Majesty that contentment which he has just cause to promise himself It shall be sufficient for me to let yee know that the Business in question upon this occasion being to the advantage of his Holiness and all his Family which the King will procure upon all opportunities that shall present themselves your Excellency being so nearly related to his Beautitude as you are I make no question but you will contribute to this end whatever lies in your Power assuring your Eminency that as his Majesty lays this affair to heart more then I am able to express so he will acknowledge the Obligation laid upon him to the utmost of your Expectation For my own part Sir considering the Honour which I bear your Eminency there can be nothing added to that affection wherewith I am and will be ever c. LETTER CLXXXII To Cardinal Bichi MY Affection to Monsieur the Marquiss of Scurdis and all his Family causes me to set Pen to Paper to request your Eminency that you would be pleas'd to favour him as much as possibly you can in obtaining his Holinesses Bulls for the Coadjutorship of the Abby of Mont-Mortre to which it has pleas'd the King to nominate his Daughter a Nun belonging to that Convent together with a Dispensation for her Age so that she may receive as soon as may be the satisfaction which she expects from thence Assuring you Sir that I shall be no less engag'd to your Excellency for your Assistance in this Affair then if it were for my self as you shall find upon any other opportunity wherein I shall have an occasion to manifest my acknowledgment and let you see that I am sincerely c. LETTER CLXXXIII To the same MOnsieur Draconis being nominated by the King to the Bishoprick of Lavaur as being deem'd worthy of that Honour I set Pen to Paper earnestly to request your Eminency that you would be pleas'd for mine and the sake of his own Merit to sacilitate as much as possibly you can the dispatch of his Bulls and so to order it if it may be done that his Holiness will be pleas'd to moderate the Fees in regard of the small Revenue belonging to that Bishoprick You will lay a very great Obligation upon the said Sieur de Draconis wherein the Affection which I bear him will make me a considerable sharer so that there shall no opportunity present it self wherein I may manifest my acknowledgment but the
yee was all embark'd and ready to put to Sea in order to join your Forces when the News of your Accommodation with the Syaniards arriv'd in Provence His Majesty who has always wish'd Your Highness's Contentment equally with his own and has had an Affection for your Interests as much as for the Interests of his own Kingdom was very glad you had met with your Satisfaction in the Treaty which you have been constrain'd to conclude with the Spamards promising himself that it will not hinder Your Highness from preserving the â—…me Sentiments you have all along had in his behalf and that this Treaty will be no way capable of making you alter your Resolutions or your Inclinations to France I beseech yee also to believe that you will always find His Majesty entirely dispos'd to give you constant Marks of his good Will and his singular Esteem of your Person And for my own part seeing Your Highness cannot but be sensible how much I honour you I shall be always unspeakably overjoy'd to meet with any Opportunity of manifesting by real Effects in serving Your Highness how much I am and shall be ever c. LETTER CXCIX To the same HAving made known to His Majesty the Proposal which the Person who manages Your Highness's Affairs in this Court imparted to me in your Name in order to a good Accommodation with the Spaniauds His Majesty has commanded me to tell yee that he will never refuse any Means by the Intercession of whomsoever but more especially yours above any other Person 's as having an entire Confidence in your Person and Affection but that he can hardly believe that the Spaniards will sincerely hearken to it or bring themselves to just and reasonable Terms since that hitherto they have refus'd the Hollanders those Pasports which are necessary notwithstanding all the Importunities that have been made use of to attain them I can assure Your Highness that as the King desires nothing more fervently then to see the Troubles of Christendom appeas'd by a sound and lasting Peace to the Repose of all his Confederates so His Majesty will omit nothing that depends upon him to obtain it and that he will always make his Friends the common Judges of his Interests For my own part Sir I shall esteem my self extreamly happy if in following His Majesty's good Intentions I can contribute any thing towards it and make Your Highness sensible by my Actions and my Services that there is no Person who honours yee more or who is more passionately or more sincerely then my self c. LETTER CC. To Prince Thomas MY Joy for the Conclusion of the Accommodation between Your Highness and the King and Madam was not a little augmented by the Assurances which Monsieur the Count de la Trinite gave me of your Affection which was confirm'd by the Letter which he deliver'd me in your Name I will assure yee that I shall always make you answerable Returns by all the good Offices you can desire from mine which will rejoice me so much the more from this time forward that the Interests of your Family are no longer separated from those of France I promise my self also according to what you send me word that you will give me more and more Cause to be a strenuous Advocate for 'em to the King while you do His Majesty as good Service for the general Good of his Affairs as you have done the Spaniards when you were engag'd on their side 'T is so much your Interest that I assure my self you will lose no Opportunities to do it no more then you will of manifesting to the World that a generous Prince as you are is no way capable of salsifying his Word I assure my self that Your Highness will not be offended at the King's Choice of M. de Longueville to command his Army in Piedmont seeing that besides the Alliance between yee I know that you are both engag'd together in a strict Tie of Friendship I dare undertake that he will have a particulare Care of all your Concerns and that His Majesty will not suffer him to depart without recommending it particularly to him to give yee all the Satisfaction you can reasonably desire For my part I beseech yee to believe that I shall contribute by my Services to that End whatever you can expect from a Person who esteems yee and who is most sincerely c. LETTER CCI. To Duke Bernard of Weimar THough the Confidence which the King has always had in your Fidelity your Affection and Zeal for the Honour of his Kingdom and Advantage of his Affairs was such that one would ' have thought there could nothing have been added to it nevertheless if your Conduct and your Demeanour towards His Majesty in reference to that Business which occasion'd the Dispatch of the Sieur de Varenne to yee some few Days ago have augmented it in such a manner and satisfy'd His Majesty to that degree that it would be impossible for me to express it by these Lines I suppose you will be glad to understand it by the Employment which he confers upon yee both in Alsatia and Lorrain where he designs yee the Command of his Army and to carry on the War all the Winter-Season of which M. de Noyers will give you a more particular Account in the King's Name I say nothing Sir of my own Contentment because you may easily conceive it by the Share I have always taken in your Concerns and the Passion which as you know I have always had to serve yee of which you will receive new Proofs upon all Occasions that shall present themselves to let you know that I am sincerely as much as Man can be c. LETTER CCII. To the same THE King has too great an Affection for your Concerns not to give yee all the Satisfaction you can desire from His Majesty not only for the Subsistance of your Men but also for all other things you stand in need of The Orders that have been sent the Cardinal de la Valette for your Winter-Quarters will sufficiently demonstrate His Majesty's Care of your Affairs and if we could without the absolute Ruin of the Frontiers assign you others you may believe Sir it should be done without any Hesitation since it is the King's Pleasure to give you all possible Contentment For my part nothing caâ—…be more to my Content then to meet with Opportunities of letting yee know by real Effects that I am sincerely as much as Man can be c. LETTER CCIII To the same I Believe it would be needless for me to display before yee in these Lines my extraordinary Joy for your good Success in the Execution of your Design upon the City Bridge and Pass of Lauffenbourg in regard that knowing as you do my extream Passion for the Prosperity of the King's Affairs and your Honour in particular it will be easie for yee to conceive it I must only tell Your Highness that His Majesty is so
much the more pleas'd with it because he promises himself from your Prudence Courage and good Conduct that a Success so propitious will produce something more advantageous for the common Good I can assure yee Sir that His Majesty will omit nothing that depends upon him to second your good Intentions and to put yee into a Condition not only to prosecute 'em but to preserve the Post which you are now Master of and which is of that Consequence that I doubt not but that you have taken all the Care of it that may be As to my particular I beseech Your Highness to believe that in my Station near His Majesty I shall contribute towards your Satisfaction as much as in me lies or that you can expect from me who no less wishing the Increase of your Glory and Reputation then your self shall always be glad of any Opportunity to let you see by Effects that I am c. LETTER CCIV. The the Count de Picolomini THE Events of War are usually so various that when any thing of Prosperity befalls us I always consider'd that we must expect to hear of bad fortune Your Excellency's good Conduct and the bad Conduct of many that were in the Army commanded by M. de Feuquieres has given yee an advantage which I had rather should have befallen you then any other that acts against the King by reason of your particular Merit and Civilty I would have willingly propos'd to his Majesty the sending back of the Baron of Equenfort according to your desire were it not already agreed that he should be exchang'd together with General Wertz for Monsieur the Marshal Horn Coll. Tubal and Chevalisquy As for M. de Feuquieres I assure my self you will not dislike the putting him to so easie a Ransom to the end he may have cause to speak well of your good usage and that you may be quit of a Person that for a long time has not been able to stir out of his Bed and his Chamber I promise my self that your Civility in this particular will crown your good Success at the Battel of Thlonville and I assure yee that upon any other opportunity that shall present it self the example which you set me upon this occasion shall be religiously observ'd and I shall take it for a favour that I may have the Liberty to manifest that I am c. LETTER CCV To the Chancellor Overstein M. d' Avaux having made known to us the Inclination of the Crown of Sweden to assist France with a certain number of men of War for which she has an Occasion I write these Lines most earnestly to intreat your Excellency to be instrumental by virtue of that Power which I know you have that the King may receive the Benefit of this Favour upon the Conditions that shall be propounded by the Sieur d' Avaux beseeching you to believe that besides the Thanks which His Majesty will return you for your Care in procuring this Satisfaction and the Obligation you will lay upon me in particular the common Cause will receive no small Benefit by the Service of these Vessels for the Advantage of which it is that the King more especially desires ' em And for my part Sir I shall always deem it one of my chiefest Happinesses to serve your Excellency as being c. LETTER CCVI. To the Grand Master of Malta THough I wrote to yee two Days ago by the Chevalier des Roches who is going to attend yee upon the Report which is spread abroad of the Seige of Malta nevertheless I cannot but write once more to give yee new Assurances that I shall contribute upon this Occasion as much as lies in my power towards the Good of your Order The King has written to Marseilles to the end you may be furnish'd with Powder there by the Merchants to serve you according as Monsicur the Commander of Villegagnon has already spoke to me in your behalf I am glad you have committed to his Care the Affairs of your Order in the Absence of Monsieur de la Porte my Uncle knowing that he will most honourably discharge his Trust I shall say nothing to yee at present touching the Commanders and Knights that are employ'd for the Service of the King in his Armies because that besides that His Majesty has written to yee at large upon this Subject I have already made it my Request to you in my former Letters to hold 'em excus'd And therefore I shall only now assure yee of the Continuance of my Affection and that I am c. LETTER CCVII. To the Lords of the Swiss-Cantons Messieurs YOU will understand as well by the King's Dispatches brought you by the Sieur Sonneberg as by M. Melland his Ambassador to whom he has written more at large the Good Will which His Majesty bears the Lords of the Cantons and the Desire he shall always have carefully to preserve the Union which France has maintain'd with 'em Time out of Mind However I must tell yee by the by that the King is highly pleas'd with your sending to him the said Sieur de Sonneberg upon his entring into Franche Comte with his Army wherein he had no other Aim but to inforce from those of the Country Reparation for their Breaches of the Neutrality which His Majesty will be always as careful to observe on his part as they shall shew themselves willing to do the same on theirs For my part my Lords I beseech yee to believe that when I shall have any Opportunity to serve yee you shall find both in general and particular that no Body is more sincerely then my self c. LETTER CCVIII To the Marquis of Mirabel when His Eminency was admitted Duke and Peer of France I Take it for no small Honour that an Ambassador of Spain and particularly the Marquis of Mirabel whom I highly esteem would be pleas'd to signifie by his Letters to me his sharing in my Satisfaction for the new Marks of Favour and Goodness bestow'd upon me by so great a King and so good a Master as I have the Honour to serve The best Acknowledgment I can return for this Civility is to acquaint His Majesty with it who will be highly pleas'd to find that you are pleas'd with what he has done If I meet with any Opportunity to manifest by any other Way my real Acknowledgment I shall not fail to do it In the mean time believe both what I say and that I am c. LETTER CCIX. To the Lord High Treasurer of England UNderstanding that Endeavours are us'd to create in your Lordship an ill Opinion of the Bishop of Calcelon who is fled for Sanctuary to my House and that he is accus'd to have been tampering and medling with Affairs of State and as 't is said to have been writing likewise something to your prejudice I cannot but I must let your Lordship know that I should by no means suffer him under my Roof if there were
without us as things are now If it be a Contempt to suffer Prejudice that we may do another a Kindness we despise our Alliances and which is more we are resolv'd to despise 'em in that manner to the end that by that Contempt we may give 'em all the Cause imaginable not of Complaint but of Content and Satisfaction It appears from hence that our Confederates have all the reason in the World to be satisfied with us and now let us see whether we can satisfie those who are discontented at our Expences The good Husbandry of the deceased King's Treasury left us when he was taken from us Five millions in the Basteille and in the hands of the Treasurer of the Exchequer between seven and eight millions more which he had appointed for the payment of the Army which he had rais'd with an intention to have enlarg'd the Bounds of his Fame which could admit of no other than the Limits of the Universe But the Uncertainty wherein that fatal Accident plung'd us requiring that we should secure our affairs by the counterpoise of a considerable strength we were constrain'd to employ one part of those Finances toward the maintaining for some months a great number of Soldiers that had been raised before so that the said Expence the King's Funeral Charges and the Coronation of the Queen in a short time very much lessened the reserve After the death of that great Prince who was the true Pattern of Government it was impossible to prevent Disorders from growing to such a head while several measuring their Merits by their Ambition were not asham'd to demand and importunately to sollicit where they durst not so much as wish for during the King's Life But they made their Advantage of the Necessity of the Times they offer'd their Service they boast their Abilities to serve or otherwise to do mischief and at length clearly show that they will not be brought to their Duties but upon advantageous Conditions behaving themselves in such a manner that they themselves who had assisted the King in hoarding up his mony advise the Queen to comply with the Times by opening her hands and giving largely to every body In pursuance of this Counsel she augments the Pensions and Maintenances of the Princes Lords and old Servants she gives 'em new ones she augments the Garrisons of their Towns as well for the satisfaction of those that kept 'em as for the security of the Kingdom and keeps in Pay more Soldiers than she was accustom'd to do The augmentation of these Pensions one with another amounted to three millions every year The Roll of the Light Horse and Regiments in Pay is now at Three millions and three hundred thousand Livres whereas in the year 1600 they were no more than Fifteen hundred thousand Livres She bestowed a great number of Presents and so by Advice and Counsel without encreasing her Receipt but decreasing it Two millions and Five hundred thousand Livres upon the Salt every year she encreased her Expences to that degree that upon an exact examination of it and considering the Condition to which we are reduced by so many necessary Expences we are rather to be commended than blamed for being at so great a charge Monsieur the Prince in six years received Three millions six hundred and sixty thousand Livres Monsieur and Madam the Princess of Conti above Fourteen hundred thousand Livres Monsieur de Guise near Seventeen hundred thousand Livres Monsieur de Nevers Sixteen hundred thousand Livres M. de Langueville Twelve hundred thousand Livres Messieurs de Mayenne Father and Son Two millions and odd thousand Livres M. de Vendosm near Six hundred thousand Livres M. d'Espernon and his Children near Seventeen hundred thousand Livres and M. de Bouillon near a million of Livres All the Marshals of France whose number is encreased above half in half received four times as much as they had before their Pensions being augmented to 24000 Livres apiece within six years for every one to 144000 Livres and for eight as they were always wont to be one with another to One million one hundred fifty two thousand Livres Six other Dukes or Officers of the Crown received the same Gratification amounting in six Years to Eight hundred sixty four thousand Livres By this it is easie to see how the Treasure of France was exhausted seeing that eleven or twelve Articles in favour of the Grandees of the Kingdom amount to near seventeen millions not including their Salaries and the Fees belonging to their Employments besides the encrease of Pay for their â—roops of Gens d'Arms the Extraordinaries of War for the Garrisons of their Towns nor reckoning in the last place the Troubles occasion'd by some of 'em Troubles which having three times caused us to betake our selves to Arms have put us to the Charges of Twenty millions in extraordinary expences These things being consider'd can their Majesties be accused of wasting their Treasure must it not be clearly acknowledg'd that if France be in Debt 't is by reason of the Expences she has been constrain'd to be at for her own Children If they who are mentioned have received so many Benefits what have others done They were not remiss either in begging or receiving By consequence the publick Exigencies having constrained the giving not only to those that serv'd us but also to be liberal to the greatest part of those that begged of 'em as it appears by this that the encrease of Pensions concerning which we have spoken in general those of the Princes and Lords being deducted amounts for the last six Years since the King's death to seventeen millions those of the Soldiers in pay to above nine millions and the Gifts bestowed to one or other not to speak of those presented to the Grandees above mentioned to Sums almost incredible If the deceased King who was at liberty to be sparing in his expences because of his absolute Authority could not in ten years of uninterrupted Peace hoard up besides the payment of some Debts above thirteen or fourteen millions can it be a Wonder that in six years of continual Trouble wherein the weakness or misfortune of the times obliged us to have our Hands continually open we should be somewhat in Debt No body ever did so much with so little in so much time never did Vessel resist so great a Tempest with so few Wrecks as were observ'd in ours After this exact account of Expences who will not acknowledge the Blindness and Passion of those who impute the miseries and necessities of this Kingdom to the advancement of some Foreigners Who will not acknowledge that such People blame a Government which is not to be found fault with That they complain when there is no occasion that they condemn Expences which they know in their Consciences were made for their sakes 'T is no strange thing that a Foreigner should make his Fortune out of his Country that in this Kingdom such persons may be advanced
to Honours and Employments History produces so many Examples of it that instead of being troubled to find 'em out a man may make his choice of such as he pleases to make use of That which is so much discoursed of is far from the Degree of Preferment to which others have attain'd he is only a Foreigner born but so much a French Foreigner that he shows his Fortune to none but French How many of the best Families of this Kingdom have been advanced by his procurement Where is that man whom we loaded with his Master's Favours who is not obliged to their Majesties for ' em In England all the Scotch are advanced and no Englishman in France but one Stranger only all the rest French What cause for Complaint in this If there be any 't is they that make it are to be blamed and not they who are complained against Since it may be truly said to conclude all in three words the Government was such that if we consider it without Passion there can be nothing found in answer to this Article nor to any thing else here set down but that there may be seen to have been in it too much Clemency without Rigor too many Favours without Punishment Signed RICHELIEV The Instruction sent to M. Miron going into Switzerland in 1617 signed also DE RICHLIEU was all the same only that it began with these words After the most execrable Parricide committed upon the Person c. And that some lines were left out about the middle after these words You must not forget to insinuate how we send c. to these words exclusively This Marriage not being able to give any Jealousie c. Instructions for Monsieur de Marquemont Archbishop of Lyons for Rome 1617. From Mr. du Puy 's Study M.S. 504. THE King sent his Commands to the Marquess de Tersnel by his Secretary to go back to Rome in case he met him in any part of Italy to continue to serve his Majesty there in the Quality of his Ambassadour in ordinary judging it necessary in the present Conjunture of Affairs to give his Holiness a constant and perfect Knowledge thereof But the said Secretary found him so forward on his way that the Marquess could not easily comply with the said Order and therefore proceeded towards the Court where at his Arrival he has confirmed his Majesty's Resolution about the sending of some Mâ—n of Quality and Merit whose Person might be acceptable to the Pope and Sacred College until another be sent thither to reside there with the Title of his Ambassador in Ordinary in the usual manner There is indeed at Rome Cardinal Vicenzo late Vice Protector whose Fidelity and Affection the King is fully satisfied with and Cardinal Vrsini lately honoured with the Comprotectorship who both take Care of his said Majesty's Affairs in his Ambassador's Absence But whereas there seems to be a certain Emulation between them concerning the Mannagement and Direction of the said Affairs and that it is highly important to represent the true State and Constitution thereof to his Holiness together with the Causes and Motives of the Counsels and Resolutions that have been taken by his Majesty which can never be performed so well as by Persons sent on purpose with fresh Informations of whatsoever has been transacted there his Majesty has been induced by the aforesaid Considerations to send the Archbishop of Lyons expresly to Rome being perswaded that he could chuse no person more fit for the executing of that Office by reason of the Experience the late King of glorious Memory had of him there when he served the Holy See and his late Majesty in the Quality of Auditor in the Rota and the Reputation he has left there of his Virtue and Probity which will give him the more Credit with his Holiness and the sacred College whenever any Occasion shall happen to treat with them for his Majesty's Service There are Two Affairs depending at this Time which require this Ministry the one general relating to the Publick Tranquility of Italy and indeed of Christendom the other particular respecting the Welfare of this Kingdom and both of them the Honour and Satisfaction of his Majesty The said Archbishop is to begin the performing of his Office by kissing the Feet of his Beatitude in the King's Name by presenting the Letters his Majesty has written to him with his own Hand by assuring him of the Perseverance of his Devotion and Filial Observance of his Zeal and Desire for the Increase and Propagation of the Holy Name of God and of the Catholick Apostolick Roman Religion according to the Example of the Kings his Predecessors and of his Affection and Care to promote and settle the general Repose of Christendom as also to maintain Union and Concord among all the Princes his good Friends Allies and Neighbours to make them Sharers of that Peace with which it has pleased God to bless his Kingdom by the Death of the Marshal d'Ancre who was the sole Incendiary and real Cause of the Troubles that have been raised of late Years and the Spring of those Divisions that have perplexed all the parts of the State and the Minds of the Grandees thereof making use of both to advance himself to increase his Credit and Authority under the King's Minority the Weakness of a Regency and a confused Government That having attained such a degree of Power and Insolence by means as unjust as base and after having received more Favours and Honours than ever he could deserve or at first durst hope for he had reduced the Power of his Sovereign to the necessity of serving his unruly Passions and made it the Instrument of his insatiable Avarice and unbounded Ambition insomuch that after he had caused most of the Princes and ancient Officers of the Crown to be removed from his Majesty's Person in order to mannage and dispose all things with greater Liberty and to imbezle and order the King's Revenue at his Pleasure under Pretence of doing him Service in respect to the principal Affairs of State he brought the Kingdom into Confusion that he might govern alone according to his own Fancy to the Disgrace and Prejudice of the Dignity and Authority Royal and took the Advantage at the Expence of his Majesty's innocent afflicted Subjects of the Calamities and Miseries of the War of which he was the principal Author and Contriver to secure the Fortune he had built upon such illegal Foundations which his Majesty after having born too long has been forced to destroy in order to restore Peace to his People and deliver the Kingdom from the Persecution of a Man that was so Ingrateful and Wicked the Consequence whereof has immediately convinced every one how pernicious and destructive his Life was to the State which has recovered its Vigor and former Peace by his Death The Princes and Lords who had taken up Arms presently returned to their Duty and assured the King of their entire
Obedience without any Conditions but their Fidelity and his Majesty's Goodness And he is so well satisfied with their Service and Assistance at present that he promises to himself by their good Advice and Counsel together with that of those whom the late King had always imployed with Success in his most important Affairs and were removed by the Malice of that pernicious Man to reign by the Grace of the Almighty the inspirer of the Hearts of Kings and their Director to Justice and to his Glory in all Equity and Goodness over his Subjects in Peace and Amity with his Neighbours and in all Reverence towards the Holy See and his Beatitude on all occasions If our Holy Father enquires ' Why then his Majesty did not rather chuse the common Methods of Justice in punishing him for his notorious Crimes that he might serve as an Example to Posterity the said Archbishop is to answer That it was his Majesty's Intention so to do and that it was so ordered But that the Persons commanded to apprehend him perceiving that he was guarded and preparing to defend himself were obliged to have recourse to this Extremity for fear of missing an Opportunity of such consequence for his Majesty's Service who is an Enemy to Blood and to such extraordinary Proceedings tho' just on such occasions This Accident falling out the King took particular care to send an ample account thereof to the Queen his Mother whose Goodness and Favours he had too much abus'd She was soon sensible that His Majesty had been forc'd to it for no other consideration but the welfare of his Affairs for which she has always shew'd her self very affectionate since the Death of the late King her Lord cherish'd and cheerfully embrac'd every Occasion to promote the Good Honour and Advantage of the State to His Majesty's Satisfaction and Glory who was very desirous that according to her affection and experience in the affairs of his State she would have been pleas'd still to continue that Care and to ease and assist him with her assiduity and prudent Councils But she desired to be excused of so great a Burthen have Leave to remove from Court and the hurry of affairs to apply her self with more Freedom to the Service of God and a quiet Life So that the King preferring her Desire and Satisfaction to that of her Presence and the advantage of her assistance yielded tho with great regret to her Entreaties and reiterated Instances to retire causing his Guards to accompany her honourably with her own to the place which she her self had made choice of and desired for her abode and the King endeavours to alleviate the Trouble of her absence by frequent Messages and Visits to enquire after her Health This she answers with the like care and affection which is a Subject of great Joy and Comfort to all those who observe this Royal Correspondence and his Majesty's Filial Respect with that natural and reciprocal affection which the said Queen contributes towards it And this His Majesty is resolved to continue on all occasions more by real effects than by any outward formal appearances to acquit himself of his Duty and Obligations to her for the constant care she has had of his Royal Person and for the Welfare of his Kingdom As to the present Difference between the King of Spain and the Duke of Savoy every body knows and particularly his Holiness to whom a particular account has been given from time to time of those Transactions the earnest Endeavours used by His Majesty at the very beginning to prevent the misfortunes and accidents which arise at present to His Majesty's great Sorrow who has not only represented the same to the Emperor King of Spain and the said Duke of Savoy and where-ever else it was necessary but has also sent three Embassies extraordinary at the Desire and Entreaty of the said King of Spain the second of which produced the Treaty of Ast not observed since by the said King and his Ministers employ'd in the Government of the Dutchy of Milan This obliged the Duke of Savoy again to provide for his Defence and Safety and his Majesty to â—enew his good Offices on both sides by the Sieur de Bethane to mediate and resume the said accommodation But the Treaty has been since removed into Spain without consulting the Marquis de Senescey his Majesty's Ambassador in ordinary there any wise about it or ever acquainting his Majesty with the Cause of this sudden removal and alteration notwithstanding he had been so zealous in promoting it at the earnest Entreaty of the said Catholick King without any prospect but that of the Publick Good However the King is not so much concerned at their Endeavours to deprive him of the Honour of the Agreement after his having taken the mediation thereof upon him at their Entreaty as he is to find that the said Negotiation has not succeeded to the satisfaction of the Parties neither does he any wise envy any body the honour and satisfaction thereof provided so good a Work be done no matter by whose means But he has a just cause of Displeasure and to complain that notwithstanding such good Offices and Demonstrations of Friendship made in all Candor and Sincerity for their common satisfaction the said King has all of a sudden unexpectedly and without acquainting his Majesty therewith attack'd the said Duke with open Force even besieging his chief Cities and Fortresses contrary to his often reiterated Promises and Assurances that it was his Desire to compose this Difference amicably and that he would attempt nothing to the disadvantage of the said Duke or of his Dominions This Proceeding has no less surprized his Majesty than enflamed his Courage and obliged him to take Resolutions which he all-along endeavoured to avoid by mildness and treaties his Honour and the Interest of France not permitting him to suffer the Duke of Savor's being opprest especially he not refusing to submit to reasonable Conditions when offered to him which on his part has not been done hitherto in which case he would be the first to blame his Highness and to compel him to condescend by force as he will always be against those that shall molest him or invade his Territories against Justice and Reason This His Majesty has declared to the said King's Ambassador residing at his Court and has caused the same to be represented to the King himself by his Minister in Spain That comparing the just Causes and reasons thereof with the perils and misfortunes that may arise and are to be expected from the sequel of such a resolution he might rather chuse a Treaty to compose all things amicably than to prosecute a Design attended with many Inconveniences very prejudicial to the general Peace and to the particular Repose of Italy that will be made the Theatre on which this bloody Tragedy will be acted to the disadvantage of the Princes and States thereof And besides the sensible Displeasure his
Holiness will receive thereby it will be difficult to avoid its proving fatal to the Church and Carholick Religion by the multitude of Strangers of divers Nations and Religions who are preparing to run to the Duke of Savoy's assistance as to a common Cause both out of Dread and Jealousie of the encreasing Power of Spain and for the Justice of the Cause itself as well as by the example of others The assistance of the States of the Vnited Provinces has already been implor'd who will be the readier to grant it because it is against the King of Spain their ancient Adversary whom they will be pleas'd to see imploy'd and weaken'd in his Territories in Italy The Protestant Princes of Germany seem inclined to favour the same Cause out of the same Considerations and will do it yet more powerfully when they find the War begun in earnest A vast number of Captains and Soldiers this Kingdom swarms with at present upon the disbanding of the Army will freely repair thither for Imployment besides the Forces both of Foot and Horse the King is sending towards the Frontiers to assist the said Duke from thence if it be necessary under Marshal de Lesdiguieres Command a Person whose Name and Reputation is sufficiently known a resolution His Majesty can never desist from without a blemish to his Faith and Honor which are both engag'd to protect and defend the Duke when attack'd he not refusing to submit to reasonable Conditions besides that it is the Interest of his whole Kingdom not to suffer the King of Spain to extend his Dominions so near his Frontiers all which he may prevent with ease at present without fear or danger at home where all his Subjects express their Fidelity and the Nobility invites him to it by their Obedience Nevertheless the World may easily imagin with what Trouble and Grief His Majesty finds himself reduc'd to take this resolution living as he hath hitherto done and is still desirous to live with theâ— his Father-in-law having on both sides such dear Pledges of their mutual and fraternal Affection But the consideration of the Interest of his state joyn'd with the publick and private reasons heretofore alledged oblige his Majesty to prefer them to those Tyes of Friendship not violated by his Majesty but by those who force him to take measures so contrary to his Inclination tho lawful in themselves and worthy of a most Christian King zealous of the publick Peace as well as of the Safety of his real Friends Moreover his Majesty looks upon this means as the most effectual to promote a good understanding between the Parties and to prevent their proceeding any further For his Arms shall never be imployed to disturb the Peace of Christendom but on the contrary to settle it to oppose those that would interrupt it and to maintain every one in his Right protesting before GOD and Man that this is his real Intention and that he only takes Arms by force and constraint and for his Honor to preserve the said peace and to protect his Friends as it appears by the good Offices and Endeavours heretofore used by him and still continued with Vigor in Spain and elsewhere and will be farther evinced by real Effects in this and all other occasions This the Archbishop is to represent to his Holiness and to Cardinal Borghese to make them sensible of the Consequences of such a Resolution and Breach his Majesties sincere Intention in this affair the Endeavours he has used and still continues to prevent it together with the powerful motives and reasons inducing him thereunto to the end that being mov'd by their Affection and usual Prudence in affairs of such weight and consequence either by persons sent on purpose or by other means suitable to the urgency of the danger they may endeavour to prevail with the said King to encline to a Peace which will be more honourable more useful to his affairs and without any comparison far more advantageous for the Public Good than a War the events of which are uncertain long and liable to produce Effects contrary to our expectation and projects That in case the said Duke of Savoy should refuse to submit to Reason and to what shall be thought just by their common Friends his Majesty as he has already declared will not only be against him but will joyn his Arms with the said Rings to compel the said Duke to it by force espousing no Party on this occasion but that of Justice His Majesty being of opinion that the most effectual way to compass the end he proposes was to obtain a suspension of Arms on both sides during which means might be thought on for a reconciliation he propos'd the same to the Spanish Ambassador who answer'd That he had no Power to do it but that he would write to the King his Master about it to whom his Majesty has likewise made the same Proposition by his Ambassador in ordinary residing at his Court and his Holiness would do well to second the said Suspension by his entreaty and recommendation in order to its being the sooner granted by the said King lest matters being once exasperated and one side getting some considerable advantage over the other this Remedy as all others tending to a Negotiation should prove the more difficult and the evil encrease to the prejudice of all and particularly of those who despise the means of an accommodation But it will be needless to compose the Quarrel between the King of Spain and the Duke of Savoy unless that between the Republic of Venice and the Archduke Ferdinand be made up at the same time for whereas they are link'd by the Interest and Affection of the Parties the Public would profit but little by the one without the other And therefore his Majesty designs to put an end to both at once to remove all the Evils Italy is threatned with and it behoves his Holiness to be the more active and vigilant therein because some men presume to taâ—k at random about his Holiness's Inclination in this particular as if he were pleased with this occasion to resent some things that have pass'd of late years between his Beatitude and the said Venetians a thing we know to be very opposite to his Holiness's Wisdom and Piety and which nevertheless it imports him to provide against out of his Paternal Care to repel and dissipate such Impostures and Calumnies The said Archbishop is to manage those reasons dexterously to induce him the more to the desir'd effect and not to animate him by too rough a relation of the said reports The said Archbishop is to represent the same thing to the great Duke in his passage through Florence after having saluted and assur'd him of his Majesty's Good will knowing his affection for the Welfare and Friendship of those two Crowns as a person who had a great share in their conjunction in order to his using such means as he shall think most
convenient for the importance of that affair He is likewise to give him the same relation about the death of the Marshal d'Ancre and what concerns the honourable Treatment the Queen-mother receives from his Majesty which he will ever continue in the same manner as much out of Affection as Duty as if she were still with his Majesty and had continued to take care of his affairs His Majesty being inform'd that the said Great Duke has sent the Archbishop of Pisa to him only to recommend the Queen his Mother's Person to his Majesty has taken it in very good part as a thing proceeding from his Highness's good Nature and his respect for the King's Honor and the said Queens Satisfaction yet looks upon this good Office as a thing superfluous towards him there being no Person in the World his said Majesty honours and cherishes more nor to whom he thinks himself oblig'd to make a more express demonstration thereof as he will ever make it evident by all manner of effects of Gratitude and Affection towards the said Queen his mother on all occasions The said Archbishop is likewise to communicate the affairs he shall be intrusted with to the Cardinals Delfini Vrsini and Bonzi as much as he shall think necessary and proper not to give them cause to suspect that the King doubts their devotion to his Service Nevertheless he is to make direct applications himself to his Holiness about such Commands as he shall receive from his Majesty during his abode there He is to take a particular care not to impart them to the Abbot d'Aumale whose Behaviour the King has no reason to be satisfied with he is to observe it strictly and without taking the least notice thereof to acquaint his Majesty therewith He is also to assure the Kings Servants and Pensioners that they will be paid better for the future than they have been hitherto upon the account of the disorder of his Majesty's Finances caused by the Revolutions and Troubles of the Kingdom which his Majesty takes pains to settle again insomuch that they may expect Satisfaction hereafter and to share the Fruits of the Peace and good Order his Majesty designs to restore in all things He is to take care to acquaint his Majesty with all Occurrences by the usual way and his Majesty will send his Commands to the said Archbishop in the same manner not doubting but he will acquit himself thereof to his satisfaction until he relieve him by an Ambassador in ordinary and this he expects according to the Tryal he has had of his Piety Capacity and Fidelity Done at Fontainbleau the 14th of June 1617. Sign'd LEWIS c. A Relation of the Queen Mother 's Removal from Blois Out of the Study of the R. F. Talon of the Orat. M.DC.XIX by M.L. C.D. L.V. AT the King's Return from the Progress he made in Guyenne about his Marriage his Majesty being at Tours Monsieur d'Espernon left the Court being dissatisfied with the Treatment he had received there for seeing that Monsieur de Bullion and the Commandore de Sillery were banish'd from thence and that the Chancellor de Sillery and M. de Puisieux daily did expect the same fate he thought it no longer safe to tarry with his Majesty Soon after this the Conference at London was concluded to the Prince of Conde's Satisfaction and the old Ministers being banished from Court and others put in their Room the Prince returned to Paris I do not positively know what pass'd between him and the Grandees that were with the King at that time about the Marshal d'Ancre's Ruine but it is certain that Monsieur de Guise sent a Gentleman to Monsieur d' Espernon at Bourdeaux to acquaint him That the Prince of Conde and he were rennited that they were in Hopes of ruining the Marshal d' Ancre and that he desired him to enter into the Union which was made between most of the Grandees of the Kingdom Tho' Monsieur d'Espernon was not resolv'd to joyn with them yet he did not absolntely reject their Proposition Within some Days after this being at Bourdeaux he was inform'd that the Marshal d' Ancre had left this Court abruptly and almost at the same time that the Prince of Conde was secur'd This put him upon the resolution of going to his Government of Xaintonge and of sending the Archbishop of Tholouse his Son to their Majesties to assure them of his Service â—…fore the said Archbishop's departure Monsieur de Guise sent a Gentleman to him to give him an account of the Reasons he had to leave the Court upon the Prince of Conde's imprisonment and to desire his advice and assistance in case he could not agree with the King Monsieur d'Espernon's Answer was That the shortest Follies were the best and That as he was not concern'd in what he had done so he had no Counsel to give him That for his part he was sending one of his Children to the King and the Queen-mother to assure them of his Fidelity and Service Soon after this the Archbishop of Tholouse arriving at Court found Monsieur de Guise's Peace concluded and saw him return but in such dread of being secur'd that he was ready to fly again the night the Prince of Conde was remov'd from the Louvre to the Bastille upon some Informations he receiv'd that the Guards were doubled During these Transactions at Court Monsieur d'Espernon was in his Government when having receiv'd a Letter from the Mayor of Rochel which he thought was not very respectful he made a very rough Answer to it and resolved to go into the Country of Aunix to take possession of his Government I cannot tell whether he was induc'd to this by his hatred to the Huguenots and particularly to the Rochelois who refus'd to own him as Governor of the Province or whether he sought a Pretence to take Arms during the Troubles which he fancied yet greater than they were at Court and to seize the King's Receipts However upon this Pretence he gave out Commissions to raise men assembled the Gentry of the Country to accompany him in his Journey to Surgeres and took the Mony he found in the King's Costers I do not positively remember whether it was before or after this Journey the said Mony was seized The Transactions of this Journey into Anjou gave great disturbances to the Rochelois who did not remember the having seen any Souldiers in their neighbourhood and the fear the Court was in lost this might create a War with the Huguenots oblig'd their Majesties to send Monsieur de Boisisse to Monsieur d'Espernon to put a stop to those Broils Boisisse being come to Surgeres found no Difficulties in this affair but such as proceeded from the said Duke's Humor so that after some Pains and Contestations he did perswade him to obey and to return to Xaintonge It was at that time Carbonnier brought him a Brief of Duke and Peer for Mons de la Valette and
Blois in the Night through one of the Windows of the Castle by a Ladder which Count de Breyne or la Mazure had prepared for her She took but one of her Women along with her whose Name was Catherine Count de Breyne and four of her Guards stood waiting at the foot of the Ladder with du Plesses who was to order all things She was constrained to crawl along the Ditch and to walk on foot to the other end of the Bridge of Blois where her Coach waited for her She stept into it with one of her Women her Jewels and a Lantern because she could not tarry in her Coach without a light and came in this Equipage to Montrichard where she shifted her Coach and Horses and was met by Ruccellai and the Archbishop of Thoulouse From thence she went with speed to Loches where Monsieur d'Espernon arrived the night before and went out a league to meet her She tarried there but one day for her Attendance and her Women and the next Chanteloube came to her Instructions for the Commandore de Sillery going Ambassador to Rome to his Holiness in the Year 1622. From M. du Puy 's Study MS. 687. THe King who together with the general Good of Christendom respects the Advantage and Reputation of his Affairs abroad as he is industrious to settle them at home with his Authority by all possible means of Vigilance and Care where-ever it is required has thought fit to fill up the Vacancy of the Roman Embassy by a Person fitly qualified to serve him and to please our holy Father the Pope to watch and observe all publick Occurrences and to promote the Honour and Service of his Majesty in all things To this end he has chosen the Bailiff de Sillery Councellor in his Council of State a Person very well known to his Majesty by several Imployments and Commissions he has discharged to his satisfaction and commands him forthwith to repair with all speed towards Rome about several affairs relating as much to the Peace of Christendom equally respected by his Holiness and by his Majesty the Tranquility and Liberty of Italy as to the Welfare and Safety of the Friends and Allies of France and has ordered this memorial to be drawn to be the Rule and Guide of his Conduct saving such Orders and Commands as shall be sent to him by his Majesty in a more precise manner by the usual way according as the new Accidents that may arise shall require it It is his Majesty's Pleasure he should go through Turin tho it were only besides that it is in his way to visit his Majesty's Sister in his Name his Highness of Savoy and the Princes and Princesses his Children as also to acquaint the said Duke in particular with his Majesty's Sentiments upon the present Occurrences and to assure him of his said Majesty's sincere Friendship which he is very desirous to make him sensible of by Effects to his advantage and satisfaction His Majesty knows the Esteem the late King his most honour'd Lord and Father ever had for his Person and has made his late Majesty's maxim his rule in the conduct of the General as he was a wise Prince endued with a long experience in Publick Affairs He designs to live with the said Duke in that strict bond of Affection for their Common Interest lately strengthen'd by the dear Pledge his Majesty has given the Prince of Piedmont of his dear-beloved Sister declaring again that as it has pleased God to let him take the management of his Affairs into his own hands and to direct them with a Will full of Equity and Honour so the said Duke and his being so nearly related to him shall freely share that Happiness from which his Majesty expects to see effects arise one day useful to the Publick favourable to his Friends and acceptable to his Holiness His Majesty is sensible that the said Duke is desirous as well as himself that every one should be maintained in his Right to oppose all Usurpations and that Neighbors and Confederates living in a friendly manner may keep so good a Correspondence that such as would attempt any thing to the prejudice of so just a Resolution may feel the effects of their ambition and rashness if so daring as to attempt it or be kept within bounds out of fear of the Force and Councils of the said Associates for the common Cause The present state of affairs in Valtelina requires this to be urged to the said Duke who is likewise concerned for the Safety of Italy The King has already acquainted him with the perpetual Endeavours used about it from the very beginning that his Majesty prevents the Inconveniences of such a precipitated Usurpation to remonstrate the Consequences thereof and to promote its restitution at Rome in Spain and elsewhere being desirous at first by mild means to endeavour the obtaining of an amicable Treaty before he would proceed to those of Rigor meerly out of respect to the Publick Peace so justly valued and desired as also because the Infringers thereof are so nearly united to his Majesty by Alliances that he had reason to expect from their very Promises that they would at last yield to his just Remonstrances to execute the Agreement made at Madrid for the restitution of the said Countries as soon as might be according to the Articles thereof This has been prest without intermission thereby discovers his entire Affection for the Welfare of his Affairs so he may assure himself that he shall have a good Share in the Success thereof which he hopes to promote and to settle by Power only He also thinks it very necessary once more to advise the said Duke to facilitate as much as in him lies the reconciliation between himself and the Duke of Mantua diverted hitherto by those who envied his Majesty the satisfaction of being the Promoter thereof and would improve their dissention to their own advantage But both of them would do wisely considering the ends of their Neighbours to yield something in respect to the Publick Good and their Interest rather than to hearken to the artificial Suggestions of those who have and do still endeavour to keep up their Division The said Commandore is to enquire of the Sieur Marini who is in those parts and will assist him in all things on what Terms the said Duke stands in that respect and if his Majesty's Name and Authority can be any wise serviceable therein he is freely to employ himself in it in his passage as he likewise is to do at Rome where this Affair was formerly refer'd when any occasion shall offer it self He is to do the same Office towards the Duke of Mantua without going thither himself by sending one of his Gentlemen to assure him of his Majesty's Good-will of his being order'd to favour his Interest at Rome and to use his utmost endeavours to facilitate their reconciliation to which he shall be desired to show himself the
such a manner that every such Body may be compos'd with part of His Majesty's and part of the said States Forces to shew in all things the strict Union there is between His Majesty and the said States And in case by the Taking of any Town the Queen His Majesty's Mother or the Princess Margaret of Lorrain should chance to fall into His Majesty's and the said States Hands it is His Majesty's Desire that the said Queen his Mother be us'd with all the Honour and Respect due to her Quality and that the Princess Margaret be kept in such a manner that they may be able to answer for her Person treating her however with all the Civility requir'd towards a Person of her Birth In such a Case the said Mareschals are to cause those that shall be taken with the Queen to be carefully secur'd and are to know her Pleasure to acquaint His Hajesty therewith and in the mean time are to take particular Care that she may neither receive or execute any Resolution contrary to His Majesty's Service His said Majesty authorizes the said Mareschals to resolve with the said Prince of Orange all things not contradictory to the Treaty made with the said States on the 8th of February last past or that are not contrary to the Article of the present Instruction as they shall think it most proper for the common Good Done at Compeigne April 23. 1635. Signed LEWIS c. Lower Servien Memoire of Cardinal de Richelieu for the Cardinal de la Vallette From Charonne this 15 Sept. MDCXXXV THE King ever did repose such a Confidence in the Cardinal de la Valette that he gave him at the very first beginning of his Commission as he does still at this time full liberty and Power to do with his Army whatever he shall think fit for his Majesty's Service We have all along dreaded the sudden changes to which our History informs us that the Germans have sometimes been subject Nothing can be more surprizing than that we find at this time in the Landgrave of Hesse and the four Millions that are demanded by the Duke Bernard of Weymar We are willing to believe that considerations of Honour will hinder them from doing any thing that may indanger the loss of their Reputation in contributing to the ruin of the Cardinal de la Valette and the Army under his Command Nevertheless if the making an unreasonable Treaty like that of the four Millions demanded by the Duke Bernard of Weymar be absolutely necessary to hinder him from abandoning the King his Majesty impowers the Cardinal de la Valette to conclude it and to sign or cause the same to be sign'd by Monsieur Feuquieres according as he shall think fit The Cardinal de la Valette will do well first to endeavour to reduce the said Duke Bernard to a reasonable Treaty The maintenance of Six Thousand Horse at the rate of eight Musters which is much for Men that never had any amounts at Ten Crowns a Man to Sixteen Hundred Thousand Livers a Year That of the Twelve Thousand Foot at the same Rate of eight Musters amounts to no more Therefore it seems that if the King should give Three Millions for the maintenance of Six Thousand Horse and Twelve Thousand Foot besides what they will get by the Contributions in Germany where they never had any other subsistance they should have a great deal of reason to be satisfy'd Nevertheless if the time and present occasions require more to be given to the said Duke Bernard of Weymar the King leaves it to the discretion of the Cardinal de la Valette as far as the four Millions demanded It is also referr'd to the said Cardinal to insert in the Treaty he will make or cause to be made with the said Duke Bernard the most advantageous Conditions he can for the King's Service For instance it is very reasonable to Note that he will be paid what shall be agreed upon on condition that he shall always effectually keep on Foot for the King's Service the number of 6000 Horse and 12000 Foot which shall be justify'd by the Reviews that shall be made every Muster If it be possible it must also be agreed that the said Horse and Foot shall keep the Field the Forces that are in Garrison living commonly on Contributions at the expence of the Garrison and of their Neighbourhood that in case the King gives his Money he may be certain of having an Army on Foot capable to oppose his Ememies In fine the Cardinal de la Valette is to get the best conditions he can for the King's Service though none be prescrib'd to him the King leaving him a full Liberty to conclude the Treaty as he shall think most fitting adding and diminishing whatever he shall judge proper Though we do not think that the Landgrave of Hesse or Duke Weymar would be guilty of an Infidelity yet we cannot forbear considering and dreading the condition and place in which the Cardinal de la Valette is as well for the King's Interest as for the Affection he has for his Person Therefore we conclude like him that the most advantageous method he can follow at present if the Landgrave of Hesse and Duke Weymar will resolve to Fight will be to chuse a proper time and place so to do with all the Circumspections imaginable Or in case he should find that whatever Negotiation and Treaty he could make with them he could not rely on their stedfastness it will be prudent for him to consider all means that may enble him according as he shall think it most proper to retire to a place where their inconstancy may not put him in danger of an absolute Ruin as towards Metz under pretence of scarcity of Provisions or of putting the Army into Winter Quarters Though this Advice be given to him it is not that he is thought to be reduc'd to such a Misfortune but in point of prudence it is necessary to fore-cast all the remedies that can be thought of in such Extremities tho' only to make use of them in the utmost Emergencies In the Name of God give Us a speedy account of your Condition to put us out of Trouble In the mean time an Army will be kept in Champagne where the King will be in Person to advance towards Mets if you stand in need of it But it will be necessary for you to let us have timely notice of it by reason that if the said Army be not wanted there it may be sent elsewhere I had forgot to tell you what may be done to fix the Landgrave and to ingage him not to leave the King I am of Opinion that you might Treat a new with him promising him that the King will never make a Peace without including not only his Person and his ancient Territories in the Treaty but also his new Conquests or an equivalent for the same to his satisfaction Matters may also be order'd in such
Majesty's Service which were commanded by the said Duke of Wâ—ymar under His Majesty's Authority and Pay and the Places by him conquer'd As to what relates to the Forces I am willing that the said Guebriant and Oysonville should offer to all the Colonels both of Horse and Foot the same Treatment they did receive from the aforesaid Duke of Weymar and moreover a Pension of 6000 Livres apiece And to make them the more sensible that His Majesty is desirous to keep them for ever in his Service his Goodness is such that he is willing to secure them Revenues in France upon his Demesnes for ever His Majesty does not particularly prescribe to the said Count Guebriant what Revenue he is willing to give upon his Demesne to each of the said Colonels because it is fit for him and the said Baron d'Oysonville to discover their Pretensions and the Capacity of each of them there being some who deserve more than others His Majesty is of Opinion that the Counts of Nassaw and Ohems as also Colonel Scheumbee will deserve 12000 Livres a Year upon his Demesne apiece and that the rest may be allow'd some six some 8000 Livres Revenue more or less according as the said Count and Baron shall think fit upon the place After having agreed with the said Colonels about the Conditions on which they are to remain in His Majesty's Service at the time they are paid an Oath must be administer'd to them to serve His Majesty well and faithfully towards and against all As to the Sieur d'Erlach when he was here he declar'd openly to Messieurs de Bullion Chavigny and de Noyers that in case the said Duke should be taken off he would rather die than fail to keep his Government for His Majesty's Service Moreover the Answer the said Duke made to the Articles sent to the said Count Guebriant after the Negotiation made by the said Erlach with His Majesty in the said Duke's Name says in express Terms speaking of Brisac and the other Garisons kept by the said Duke what followeth In case of His Highness's Death or Imprisonment he assures His Majesty that he will order Matters so and take such Care of the aforesaid Places that his Successors or Commanders shall give His Majesty the same Satisfaction he can expect to receive and does actually receive from His Highness himself After having assur'd the said Erlach of His Majesty's Confidence in and Affection towards him it will be necessary before any Propositions are made to him to know which he had rather do either immediately to deliver the Town and Fortress of Brisac into the King's Hands receiving a fair Reward or to take a fresh Commission from His Majesty to keep the said Government for His Majesty's Service taking an Oath before the said Guebriant well and faithfully to keep the same for His said Majesty and him therein well and faithfully to serve towards and against all adding what the said Count Guebriant and Baron d'Oysenville shall think most proper to oblige him the more strictly If he consents to take a reward for it the King is willing to give him a 100000 Livers in ready money and even allows the said Guebriant to go as far as 50000 Crowns If he had rather remain in the place his Majesty will leave him the command of it on the same Conditions he made with the said Duke and moreover will allow him a Pension of 6000 Crowns a Year during the War And in order to secure him a livelihood after the Peace his Majesty allows the said Count and Baron to make him a promise in his Name of the like Summ of 18000 Livers revenue on his Demesne which he shall enter in possession of after the Conclusion of the Peace If the said Sieur d' Erlach is willing to keep the Government of the said Place reason and his own security require his receiving so considerable a number of French Men into his said Garrison that in case he should infortunately be surpriz'd by Death like the aforesaid Duke a Lieutenant that is to be settled under him and secur'd to his Majesty like himself might be able to secure the said place for his Majesty And in that case the said Count Guebriant and he are to agree about a Lieutenant in whom his Majesty may confide and if possible a Frenchman chosen by the said Count as also to put a good French Garrison into it at the same time To avoid the difficulties and disturbances that might arise about the adjusting of this second proposition in case the said Erlach be disposed to deliver the said place into the said Count Guebriant's Hands whom his Majesty in that case designs to make Governour thereof he allows the said Count and Oysonville to grant him if it cannot be done otherwise as far as 200000 Livers to be paid to him in ready Money The said Guebriant and d' Oysonville are to manage this affair with so much prudence and address as not to give him the least disgust so that whatever he resolves upon he may have reason to be satisfy'd with his Majesty's Affection towards him The said Count Guebriant is also to treat with the Governors of the other places held by the said Duke in order to their delivering of the same into his Majesty's hands receiving a reward for them proportionable to the value of the said Governments or else taking fresh Commissions from the King together with an Oath of Fidelity as abovesaid In case the said Governors are desirous to remain in their said Governments they are to allow them Pensions according as they shall think fit and to promise them revenues upon their Demean instead of the said Pensions after the Peace proportionable to their deserts As to the Garrisons that are on this side the Rhine as Thanes Pentarlier and others the said Count Guebriant is to get them immediately deliver'd into his Majesty's Hands and to put such Persons into them as he knows to be both Capable and Faithful to Command the same And in case after having made the Covenants abovesaid the Commanders of the Forces and Governors of Places should make some difficulty of taking the Oath purely and only to the King and should be desirous to add that they well keep their Garrisons for the King's Service and for the advantage of the common cause the said Count is to show them how the aforesaid Duke himself by the secret Article of which a Copy is to be annex'd to this present Instruction acknowledg'd none but the King and that reason cannot allow their doing less in this than he The said Guebriant and Oysonville are to acquaint all the Troops of the said Army that the King will take so particular care of what relates to them that he designs to give them the Duke of Longueville for their General and moreover that his Majesty will repair in Person as far as his Frontier Towns of Burgundy which are upon the Saosne to shew the particular
oblig'd me to write that very Night to Messieurs de Guebriant and d'Oysonville to acquaint them with all those Difficulties and the Reasons I had to conclude as advantageously as was possible Two Hours after the Receipt of my Letter and their having conferr'd with the Duke of Longueville they repair'd hither where it was their Opinion that I should wait on Major-General Erlach to tell him absolutely that we could not go beyond what we had granted by the last Articles that our Power was at an end and that if the Army was not satisfy'd with it it was fit to send to the King again He repeated with much Disquiet as I thought that it behov'd us to take care lest Things should take an ill Biass before the Return of the Courier we should send and that afterwards we should fall into the Proverb Such refuse who afterwards muse I repeat the same Words to you Upon which I press'd him to tell me what great Reason there was to doubt I ask'd him if he had any Notice of some other Treaty to the prejudice of ours Whether he was afraid of any Treason in the Army or in the Governors He could alledge none to me but that the Army was absolutely ruin'd in case it remain'd some Days longer without marching After having felt his Pulse he made great Complaints to me against Colonel Flâ—rschin even so far that he look'd very coldly on him since his Return from Colmar That he was a Man that had receiv'd 800 Pistoles for a Gratification for which he thought himself but little oblig'd Whereupon I reply'd to him that it behov'd him to take care lest he were turn'd out of his Government That it would be a great Affront to him That he knew what we had offer'd to him what Engagements he had made to the Court That it behov'd him only to speak and that he should not want a sufficient Assistance This produc'd no Conclusion and thus we parted he saying that we should tarry for the Answer of Colonel Ohem and the other Officers about the Articles of the said Places I acquainted Messieurs de Guebriant and d'Oysonville with this Conversation We weigh'd all the Reasons on both sides consider'd the Hardships of the Treaty they would impose on the King as also the hazard we should run if in delaying the Army should chance to take another Party and the Garisons find Means to subsist without us as they might do for a while if having each Wheat enough almost for a whole Year at least for the most considerable all the Colonels following the Advice of the Suedish Resident should make a Resolution to join their Forces to those of Koningsmark a Suede From whence it would follow that the Crown of Sueden in pursuance of the Treaty made with His Majesty would oblige him to send another Army into Germany or would take an Occasion to make a Peace with the Emperor without our Leave I am sensible that this Expedient propos'd by the Resident of Sueden is not the most advantageous for those Forces by reason that in the first place before their Conjunction they are necessitated to cross a large Country belonging to the Enemy where they would be in danger of a Defeat Besides that at the time of their quitting these Quarters all the Officers would be oblig'd to break their Equipages to mount their Infantry which is a thing Germanâ— would hardly resolve upon Moreover I am of Opinion that they are not over-fond of the Suedish Command that on that side they can draw no Money from them and that since they are so loth to receive the absolute Commands of a potent King they will much more unwillingly submit to those of Koningsmark who is but a Colonel like themselves Propositions have also been made to them to Canton themselves in this Country and to make a Republick which is a mere Chimera But we have to deal with such unreasonable Men that not being capable to know their own Good they may chance to be hurry'd away following the Passion of one Man who may have a Mind to establish his Authority above the rest All these Reasons made 〈◊〉 among us incline in case the said Officers did 〈…〉 their Propositions about the Garisons to declare unto them that we had no power to grant what they desir'd and that it was necessary to send a Deputation to the King The rest consider'd that though in effect their Instructions oblig'd them to secure the Army in the most direct manner in the King's Service according to the secret Treaty of His late Highness and that by another Article of the said Instructions it is expresly provided that in case any Difficulties should arise on the part of the Governors of the Places and Officers of the Army about the Taking of the Oath purely and simply to the King and that they should be desirous to add that they will keep the said Garisons for the King's Service and the Good of the common Cause they must be made sensible how the said Duke himself by the secret Article acknowledg'd none but the King And that Reason does not allow their doing less in this than he Which are Words that enengage the Deputies to suit as much as can be their Negotiation to His Majesty's entire Satisfaction but yet do not decisively express that for want of that the King will hearken to no manner of Treaty Seeing moreover that by all the Letters we have receiv'd from His Majesty and Monsieur de Noyers since the Beginning of our Negotiation we are always injoin'd not to break it off And that by a Third Instruction sent to us upon the Propositions of Colonel Flerschin when Mention is made of the Oath to be taken by the Governors of Places it is said in express Words Although His Majesty has very clearly acquainted the said Deputiâ—e by their Instructions in what manner he is of Opinion that the Governors ought to take their Oath of Fidelity Which Expression He is of Opinion shews that His Majesty refers it to us to compose all things as advantageously as is possible for his Service After all Whether our Instructions do not bind us so fast but that we may go beyond the Words of the Oath therein set down or whether we may not exceed them without endangering our Heads considering all the Accidents above-noted and another which is most certain That in sending to the Court without a Conclusion we must pass at least a Fortnight longer before we can receive Orders and that after the Receipt of those Orders we must spend seven or eight Days longer to assemble the Officers again and as much to make the Preparations of our Departure That all this time would lead us very far into November and deprive us of the Means of taking our Winter-Quarters and consequently that this Army would be infallibly ruin'd or we forc'd to lodge them in France considering also that it is better to take some Possession of what
Articles CHarles by the Grace of God Duke of Lorrain Marquis Duke of Calabria Bar Gueldres c. To all whom these Presents shall see Greeting Finding Our Self at present in Our Territories which His Majesty has been pleas'd to restore unto Us according to a Treaty made and concluded at Paris on the 29th of March last past agreed on between His Majesty by the Cardinal Duke of Richelieu having a full Power from him and Us We declare That having all the Reason imaginable to praise His Majesty's Goodness and Generosity towards Us who in the midst of the Prosperity of his Arms and of the good Successes it has pleas'd God to bless him with on all sides has been pleas'd to use Us favourably Our Intention is to make him all the Returns of Gratitude and Acknowledgment We are capable of and in the mean time as soon as We have found Our Self in Our said Territories among Our good Servants and Subjects We have thought fit to Ratisie as by these Presents We do Ratifie Agree unto and Approve the aforesaid Treaty together with the Secret Articles Concluded and Agreed on the same Day between the Cardinal Duke of Richelieu in His Majesty's Name and Us according as We have sign'd and sworn the whole Promising moreover on the Word and Faith of a Prince as We did solemnly do on the 2d of April last to execute keep and inviolably maintain the said Treaty and Secret Articles according to their Form and Tenour without deviating or suffering the same to be deviated from on Our part in any manner whatever In Witness whereof We have sign'd these Presents with Our Hand and have caus'd Our Great Seal to be affix'd to the same at Bar the 21th of April 1641. Thus Sign'd CHARLES And upon the Fold By His Highness's Command John le Molleur And Seal'd with the Great Seal of the said Duke of Red Wax upon a double Label The Act or Form of the Oath taken by the Duke Charles of Lorrain in the City of Bar for the Observation of the Treaty above-written and of the Secret Articles WE Charles by the Grace of God Duke of Lorrain Marquis Duke of Calabria Bar Gueldres c. do Swear and Promise on the Faith and Word of a Prince upon the Holy Evangelisis and Canons of the Church by Us Touch'd in order thereunto that We will Observe and Perform cause to be Observ'd and Perform'd fully really and Bona fide all and singular the Points and Articles granted and set down in the Treaty concluded and agreed on at Paris the 29th of March last past together with the Secret Articles also concluded and agreed on the same Day between the Cardinal of Richelieu Peer of France in the Name of the most High most Excellent and most Puissant Prince Lewis by the Grace of God King of France and of Navarre and Us without ever deviating from the same directly or indirectly or suffering the same to be deviated from on Our part in any manner whatever So help Us God In Witness whereof We have sign'd these Presents with Our own Hand and have caus'd Our Seal to be affix'd to the same in the Chapel and Royal House of St. Germain en Laye the 2d of April 1641 The which We have since Ratify'd by these Presents in Our City of Bar the 29th Day of the said Month and Year Sign'd CHARLES of Lorrain And upon the Fold By His Highness's Command John le Molleur And Seal'd with the said Duke's Great Seal of Red Wâ—x upon a double Label Memorial sent in August M. DC XL. to Count Harcourt IT is difficult to give just Measures about the Propositions of Prince Thomas because it is most certain that unless he be reduc'd to the utmost Extremity he will propose nothing but in order to deceive and that in case he be reduc'd so to do he can make none equal to the Advantages that may be deriv'd by taking him Prisoner Prince Thomas cannot be desirous of staying in Turin with the Dutchess of Savoy with any Design but to deceive her and to take under pretence of an Accommodation to the prejudice of his Nephew the same Advantages in his Territories which he did pretend to by force Therefore whatever Treaty supposes the staying of Prince Thomas in the same place with the Dutchess of Savoy is not only to be look'd on as suspicious but is to be absolutely rejected It behoves those who are upon the Spot to keep their Eyes and ears equally open to penetrate as much as can be into the Miseries of the City of Turin and to hearken to the Propositions that the Prince will make to them which as soon as we are acquainted with they will know the King's pleasure If Prince Thomas has a good Intention the Extremity to which he is reduc'd and the Incapacity the Spaniards have been in to assist him discharge him sufficiently both before God and Men without his being oblig'd to use any other pretence to quit their Party His Father and his Brother's Prudence has made them do the same out of reason with less cause And when he seems to require nothing but an apparent reason to retire he only endeavours to conceal his Ill Will which is the more evident in that he is unwilling to believe he has a lawful cause to withdraw from the Spaniards unless he settles his affairs on the ruins of the Dutchess and of her Son as he would do for his own advantage The Spaniards not having been able to succour him he may honourably take the party of France and of his own Nephew the King declaring that he only keeps the Garisons he is in possession of for his said Nephew and for himself in case the Succession thereof should lawfully devolve to him and that he will most certainly deliver them into his said Nephew's hands whenever he shall be of Age and in a condition to preserve them or to the Cardinal his Brother or to himself in case that young Prince should chance to die he has all the reason in the world to be satisfy'd In case His Majesty should likewise think sit to restore his Pensions to him to give one to his Son and one to the Princess of Carignan and to intreat the Dutchess of Savoy to add to the Portion of the said Prince if moreover he should be willing to employ him in some of his Armies things that may be done and that may be promised to him he will not only find with the King all the means that are necessary to quit the Engagement he is in with Honour but also all the useful ones he can reasonably desire In case he should also require an immediate Proposition to be made by the King to the Spaniards for the restitution of all the places they are in possession of in Piedmont since the late War on condition that His Majesty will do the same Answer must be made That the King agrees to this Article and will make his
Letter which your Son M. Bouthillier deliver'd me from your self that the Pope speaks so well of the King that His Holiness approves His Majesty's Actions and all that has been done for some Months since at his Court The Queen at Compeigne So that you may assure your self that as there is no Prince in Christendom who more sincerely honours and respects His Holiness then His Majesty so there is not any one who more passionately desires the continuance of his Favours then he does For my part 't is impossible for me to express to yee in Words my real Acknowledgment of the Testimonies which His Beatitude vouchsafes to give of my Conduct I beseech yee when Occasion offers to let him know and assure him that as I am infinitely beholding to him so there is no Person living more affectionate to him then I am who will omit nothing that lies in my power to give him certain Proofs of this Truth upon all Opportunities that present themselves And be assur'd also that I will never lose any one to let you see that I am c. LETTER LXXXIX The Draught of the King's Letter to the Provinces upon M. Schomberg 's Entring Savoy with his Army MY Cousin the Cardinal of Richlieu coming to attend me at Grenoble according to my Order has given a particular Account of what fell out in his Journey for Piedmont where he has omitted nothing that I could expect from his Fidelity Courage and Prudence as well in the Conduct of my Arms as in the Negotiations of a Peace upon several Proposals made by His Holiness by my Cousin the Cardinal Antonio his Legate and the Nuncio's employ'd to that End as also by other Persons who have propounded several Conditions so remote from Reason and with so little Security for my Cousin the Duke of Mantua's Territories or those of the rest of the Italian Princes that I could not give my Consent to 'em without greatly prejudicing my Dignity and Reputation They would prescribe the Duke of Mantua Laws altogether new and deprive him of the Liberty of making use of such Persons or Nations as he shall judge convenient for the ordinary Guard of his Strong Holds and yet they will not so much as assure him neither of the Investiture of his Dutchies but only as a thing which he may hope for after he has sent to demand it of the Emperor which he has done formerly several times by his Son which would be to expose the Success of an unjust thing to the Inconveniencies of delay'd Resolutions which are frequently subject to remarkable Changes They would also oblige me to deliver up Suza and Pignerol and other Places which I hold in Piedmont only restoring the Passes of the Grisons and yet not oblige 'em to surrender the Valtolinâ— according to the Treaties and Agreements formerly made between us the Performance of which we reserv'd to our selves with Power to cause the Breaches thereof to be made good by the Parties Besides which Conditions the Duke of Savoy demands that the Annual Rent of Fifteen Thousand Crowns in Gold which I caus'd the Duke of Mantua to grant him the Payment of for his Pretensions in Montferrat should be paid him in old Rents and Duties which he made to amount to three time more then I promis'd him to the end he might swallow up the best part of Montferrat by his excessive Dâ—mands Therefore seeing things so far remote from Reason and Peace on the part of the Authors of this War who affect Scruples and Niceties to justifie themselves in their unjust Usurpations and Enterprizes 〈◊〉 the Answers which my Cousin of Richlieu return'd 'em 〈…〉 Command having sufficiently made known to 'em 〈…〉 of my Intentions and my Desire of the publick Peace and Tranquility and that the Duke of 〈◊〉 who by a â—reaty made between him and me the last Year was oblig'd to join his Arms with mine and allow 'em a safe and free Passage through his Dominions and furnish 'em with necessary Ammunition and Provisions in their March into 〈◊〉 for the Defence of the said Duke of Mâ—nâ—un never minded the Performance of the said Obligation as he was several times requested by my said Cousin I have therefore been constrain'd to make use of the Means that God has put into my hands and to enter by Force of Arms into the Countries and Territories of Savoy in order to open a Passage into Italy for the Succour of the Duke of Mantua and to maintain the rest of the Princes my Confederates in their ancient Liberty And in regard my principal Aim is to procure 'em an assured Peace and Repose and not to usurp upon my Neighbours I shall not neglect any Means to obtain it whether by Force of Arms or by a Treaty of Peace provided it may de made as I desire upon sure and reasonable Conditions for the Repose and Liberty of Italy correspondent to the Dignity of my Crown and the Authority of my Mediation c. LETTER XC From Cardinal Richlieu to M. d'Avaux JUdging it to be altogether requisite that the Republick of Venice should satisfie the Pope in reference to his Nomination of Cardinal Cornaro to be Bishop of Padua as well for the Respect they owe His Holiness as in Consideration of the present Conjuncture of Affairs I write you these Lines to desire yee that you would contribute all your good Offices with the Lords of the Senate and to let 'em understand that the King 's pressing Importunity proceeds from his Affection for 'em and his Consideration of their Advantage I promise my self that you will leave nothing omitted that may be expected from you to surmount the Difficulties you may meet with in this Affair and accomplish it to the Satisfaction of His Holiness and His Majesty considering how great a Shater he is in what concerns His Holiness For which Reason I shall forbear to urge you any farther but conclude with affuring yee that I am c. LETTER XCI To M. de Brassac I Write you these Lines to acquaint you that it has pleas'd the King to nominate Monsieur the President Coigneux to the Dignity of a Cardinal as a Person whom he deems worthy of that Honour and to conjure yee that you will contribute what lies in you towards the Accomplishment of this Affair as well in Consideration that it is His Majesty's Desire as for the Satisfaction it will be to Monsieur provided it may be effected as soon as possble And although I know that these are Motives so prevalent in your Mind that all other Persuasives would be needless I cannot but recommend this Affair to your Sedulity with much more Affection then if it were for my self who shall be ready to testifie my Acknowledgment upon all Opportunities that shall present themselves to let you see that I am c. LETTER XCII To the same Person THough I have already written to yee in behalf of Monsieur the President Coigneilx concerning the
Nomination which the King has been pleas'd to make of his Person to the Dignity of Cardinal yet I cannot but renew my former Instances that you will contribute what lies in your Power that the said Sieur le Coigneux may as soon as possible have that Satisfaction which he promises himself according to His Majesty's Pleasure and Monsieur's Desire My Considence that you will leave nothing omitted to this End prevents my saying any more but obliges me to assure yee that I shall account my self as much indebted in Acknowledgment of your Care as if I were to receive the Effects of it my self who am and shall be ever c. LETTER XCIII To the Ambassdors upon Occasion of His Eminency's being out of Favour with the Queen-Mother THey who are remote frequently apprehending things to be otherwise then they are I thought it requisite to let yee know that the Queen-Mother has declar'd she will no longer make use of my Service nor of those that have any Kindness for me who had the Honour to be near her Person And though after a diligent Search within my self for the Cause of this Misfortune I find no other then my own hard Fate well knowing that the Pleasure of Princes ought to be as absolute as their Power I neither can nor ought to do any thing more then only religiously obey Her Majesty's Will It is impossible for me to express my extream Grief for this unhappy Accident which however shall not hinder me from seeking all Opportunities to serve the Queen to whom I am most strictly bound for the past Testimonies of her good Will which she was pleas'd to bestow upon me which were such that this last Act of hers is not capable to make me lose the Remembrance of ' em After so great a Misfortune I thought there was nothing more for me to do but to retire home but it was not the King's Pleasure to permit me 'T was his Desire that I should be near his Person and still continue the Management of his Affairs wherein he vouchsafes to honour me not only with his Protection but with a good Will so singular that he can make no Addition to it I am in hopes to render my self so worthy of it by my Actions that if hither to His Majesty has shewn himself so well satisfy'd with 'em they will yet more confirm him in his good Opinion As for your parts I beseech yee to believe that it will be a great Contentment to me to let you see upon all Occasions that I am c. LETTER XCIV To Monsieur Brassac Ambassador at Rome M. Mazarin has shew'd so much Address and Affection in the Negotiation of Peace that I write you these three Words by the King's Command to let you know that you can do nothing more acceptable to His Majesty then to acquaint the Pope how greatly he is contented with it and neatly by the by to favour him in what you can and assist him in obtaining the Nunciature of France so soon as the present Nuncio shall be recall'd to Rome for better Preferment And I make it my own particular Request that you will negotiate this Affair with Cardinal Barberini Which I do not only for the sake of that Affection which I bear the said Sieur Mazarin but because I know not any Person who can be more serviceable to the Holy See then he You may be pleas'd to send me word how your good Offices in his behalf shall be receiv'd And in the mean time believe that I am c. LETTER XCV To the same I Write you these Lines to return you Thanks for your Care and Vigilance in the Promotion of my Brother and to let you know how deeply sensible I am of it The Manner which His Holiness observ'd in doing the King this 〈◊〉 and what he said of me in the Consistory 〈◊〉 obliges me I beg of yee to make him sensible 〈…〉 and to assure him that there is not any 〈…〉 who serves him more willingly then I do 〈…〉 that present themselves This Courier 〈…〉 News that will by very acceptable to him 〈…〉 him an Account that Richer is return'd to his 〈…〉 submitted his Book to the Church and the 〈…〉 condemning it himself as you will see 〈…〉 been several Attempts to reduce him to this Point and God has been pleas'd that our Endeavours have not prov'd in vain These are the Fruits of the King's Vertue in Consideration of which God multiplies his Blessings upon his Reign I beseech yee to assure Mousitour the Cardinal Barberini that I shall passionately study all Ways to serve him and that my Brother going to Rome will not be by the Help of God the most unprofitable Subject that ever His Holiness advanc'd The King's Desire to manifest his Affection to all the Pope's Family will afford him an Opportunity to give continual Proofs of his Zeal for His Holiness's Service For your particular I beg yee to believe that you will always find me c. LETTER XCVI To Monsieur Barrault Ambassador in Spain I Receiv'd two Letters which your Secretary brought me and have consider'd the Purport of what he was intrusted withal As for the great Offers which the Count d'Olivarez has made you in case the King will relinquish the Hollanders 't is done to no other end then only to incline 'em to the Truce by giving 'em some Occasion to believe that the King will no longer assist ' em Never mind this Discourse nor talk no more of it to him unless he speaks of it himself and if he does you shall tell him that Ambassadors being sent to hear what would be propounded to them and not to talk of Things for which they have no Commission you can make no other Use of hearing what he has to say then to inform the King Which done you shall return him an Answer according to the Commands which you shall receive from the King but you shall not be oblig'd to send back any thing but what has something of Probability and Foundation in it And in a Word If he makes you any extravagant Proposals you shall tell him that you will not trouble your self to acquaint the King with ' em However you must not fail to do it As to the Proposals of the Duke of Guastalla I see little likelihood of good Effect in 'em However nothing is to be neglected and if he talks any more of 'em you ought to know what his Intentions are and what is the utmost he would desire By which Means we may negotiate the Business with his Father if there be any Assurance of him And lastly You must dive into all the Circumstances by which we may be able to clear up and distinctly terminate an Affair of this nature Either the Spaniards are they who cause him to act this Part or else he would have two Strings to his Bow to get rid of the Business in case the French have the Advantage of the War in
Italy As to the other Business about which your Secretary spoke to me I communicated it to the King and Queen alone by themselves They desire you would sift it a little farther as Opportunities offer to the end you may not only discover the things themselves but who they are that give the Counsel You know well that you are to carry your self nicely in this Affair So that I shall say no more but only that I am c. LETTER XCVII To the Sieur de Lingendes Secretary to the Spanish Ambassador I Have taken a Resolution to send the Sieur de Puy to those Quarters where you are to buy me five and twenty Spanish Horses if he can meet with so many to his liking I make no question but that for my sake you will assist him as much as lies in your Power and chiefly for the obtaining such Pasports as will be necessary for the Exportation of the said Horses Upon which Account I desire you to deliver to the Count d'Olivarez the Letter of which I send you the Copy And if by chance you meet with any Difficulty or that according to the Spanish Custom they go about to put yee off by delaying their Dispatches never trouble your self to dance Attendance after 'em or to follow 'em with Requests and Importunities But tell the Count d'Olivarez that you will send back the said M. de Puy to give me an Account that he could not effect what he came for You are too sufficiently clear-sighted not to give us notice of the Movements you shall observe upon this Occasion So that I shall add no more but that I am c. LETTER XCVIII To M. de Nouailles Ambassador at Rome THE King having done the Marquiss of Sourdis's Daughter a Nun in the Abby of Mâ—…-Maitre the Honour to appoint her Coadjutrix in the said Abby as deeming her worthy of it my affection to her Father and all his Family has induc'd me to write you these lines to beg of you upon that consideration to be earnest with his Holiness and his Nephews not only for the dispatch of the Bulls requisite but also for obtaining a Dispensation by reason of her Age which is necessary for the said Nun so that her whole Family who are not a little glad of this her Preferment may have reason to know of what weight my Recommendation is with you and what esteem you put upon it Assuring you that in all other things wherein I shall have an occasion to testify my acknowledgment you shall find that I am really c. LETTER XCIX To M. de Fontenay Ambassador at Rome THE King being just now going to make great preparations of Men and particularly of Foreigners I thought fit by this Letter once more to renew my request to yee that you would be pleas'd to agree with Cardinal Antonio for raising of 3000 Men according to the proposals which he caus'd to be made to the King so that His Majesty may know the exact time when they will be ready for his Service And to shew the Cardinal how much the King depends upon that Levy he desires they may be sent into France rather then be left in Italy where they will be more apt to desert They may be embark'd at Civita Veechia and landed at Marseilles and by that means the Pope will have no reason to complain seeing the King intends to make use of 'em for the Defence of his Kingdom and not to employ 'em against his Enemies in Italy I beg of yee to hasten this Affair and to send me a speedy answer to what I have written upon this accompt LETTER C. To M. de Marillac Keeper of the Seals I Send you back the Declaration for the maim'd Soldiers with the memoir of what Monsieur the Marshal Schomberg and my self had thought of upon that Subject however submitting the whole to what M. the Cardinal of Rochefoucaut and you shall judge more proper And indeed it is of great importance just and necessary that care should be taken of the lives of those poor Soldiers who can so well contemn it when there is an occasion for the service of His Majesty I am very glad that Monsieur has succeeded so well in his Business I beseech God with all my heart that for the future he may meet with no more Spirits of Division I have been extreamly troubl'd to hear that the King has been indispos'd though it were but slightly and more glad that he is now well again God be thanked as they write me word LETTER CI. To the same Person I Received your Letter of the 4th of this Month in answer to which I must tell you I am very glad to understand there is such a good Correspondence between you and Monsieur the Surintendant it being a thing which I have always desir'd for the good of the King's Affairs not doubting but that it will continue and grow more united every day then other As for the slanders which you mention in your Letter you know how I have been persecuted with ' em But in regard they are altogether groundless there is no heed to be given to 'em they exercise the Patience of those upon whom they are thrown and redound to the honour of those to whose disgrace and mischief they were first intended LETTER CII To the same Person I was desirous to impart to you in this Letter the News which is come to the King which in my Opinion will not be unacceptable to you seeing it is advantageous to His Majesty's Affairs The Enemy designing to hinder the joining of the Army in Savoy with that in Piedmont by stopping up the Passage were so vigorously repuls'd that Eight Hundred were slain upon the place and two Hundred taken Prisoners among which is the Brother of Prince Doria General of the Spanish Cavalry with several other Officers of Note besides Nineteen Colours of Foot and three Cornets of Horse taken I promise my self from the Goodness of God that this happy beginning will be attended with many successes equal to it I pray for it with all my heart and beg of you to believe c. LETTER CIII To M. de Chasteau-neuf Keeper of the Seals I Found M. de Leuville to be of Opinion just as you sent me word After you have heard M. de Castelane I believe M. d' Toyras will submit I send you the Memoir which the said Sieur de Castelane sent me with my Reflections upon it M. de Toiras is one of your distemper'd Spirits who as I am apt to believe with a little help would cure himself I desire it for his own good and for the King's satisfaction because I know he would be well pleas'd to see that he has not sow'd his favours in barren Ground This day I set forward with an intention to get to Paris with that weakness which usually remains after great sickness and with a desire to let you know that I am c. LETTER CIV To the